Mining: The Pillar for the Chilean Economic Development

After having a nice morning in the Universidad Catolica and having a tour of the stadium, we all went back to the hotel and had free time to go get lunch. At 2:30, we met again to head towards the Caja de los Andes where we were going to have our evening speakers. The first speaker of the evening was about Sonami, Sociedad Nacional de Mineria, which is about the mining industry in Chile. The speaker, Gonzalo Cid, gave us a good and interesting presentation about how the mining industry has played an important role in the Chilean Economic Development. Also, he talked about how the mining business is long, unstable and has a strong link with price.

It was very interesting to learn about how Sonami has become a very important role in the Chilean economic environment and how it focuses on safety, productivity, cost management, water and energy, and operational excellence. When he finished his presentation, there was a good Q & A segment because many people asked really good questions to the speaker. People such as Marcus and Tyler had interesting questions related to how this industry works in Chile and what the industry represents to Chile. After he finished answering questions, we took a photo with Gonzalo and then had a nice and refreshing coffee break until the next speaker arrived.

                                                     

Business Speaker - Sustentabla

After standing in the sun for quite some time at our first visit to the soccer club, Universidad Catolica and listening to another speaker talk about the mining industry in Chile, we sat down and listened to one last speaker. Our speaker for the last presentation and brand Sustentabla was Daniela Larrea who recycled material from the ocean to form and sell surfboards in Chile. We learned alot about how enviromental friendly the company was and how such a small group can be so impactful on Chile. Sustentabla is the only company in Chile to be producing surfboards with 100% recyclable plastic coming from the ocean.

Daniela talked about the process and the creation of the surfboard and how much materials and how the company is affiliated with the enviromental association to make sure everything is just right. Sustentabla produces about 5 surfboards daily through recyclable plastics caps and is planning to move onto other products such as board paddles.

The plastic goes through a long process which ends up being processed into smaller beads that are then later formed into a surfboard. Daniela kept the group really engaged as she was the only 100% enviromental friendly speaker which seemed to be inspiring to many students in the group. 

Nolan Parent said after the speaker was finished that he "had been inspired to create a renewable energy company in the future" and that the presentation had filled him with ideas. Danielas presentation was just the beginning of her small vision and will hopefully be the first big renwable material company that expands in the future.