Chile's Copper Extraction Innovations and Environmental Cooperation with Canada

Chilean Connection I: Advancements in Copper Extraction

Everyone knows that **copper** is the most important **Chilean export** and that the country's economy largely depends on it. In recent times, the **technology** to get pure copper from copper ore has changed substantially. The new process, called "bioleaching", is based in **biotechnology**.

Millions of years before the human species operated on this planet, there already existed living organisms capable of extracting metal from rock. These are a group of bacteria known as "chemoautotrophs": living entities that harvest energy through simple chemical reactions between inorganic compounds such as iron, copper, and sulfur. These microorganisms are truly living fossils and are extremely successful as a form of life, as they are found in almost all of the Earth's crust, including places with extreme conditions where no other type of organism can survive.

The eyes of the biggest Chilean copper producer, the state-owned **Codelco**, are on three tiny bacteria identified by their indigenous names: Wenelen, Lincantay, and Yogan. The bacteria feed on nutrients in the mineral, separating the sterile material from the metal, which is then collected in a solution.

Bioleaching is much cleaner and more environmentally friendly than the traditional method, which uses a powerful poison called "cyanide" to extract the metal from the ore. Besides, bioleaching produces less air pollution and little damage to geological formations, since the bacteria occur there naturally.

Chilean Connection II: Environmental Cooperation with Canada

In February 1997, Chile and Canada signed a **free trade agreement** which contains two parallel agreements: one on work-related cooperation and one on environmental cooperation. The agreement came into effect in July 1997. The agreement on environmental cooperation reflects the high priority environmental considerations have for both countries.

Main Objectives of the Agreement

The main objectives of the agreements are:

• To strengthen **environmental cooperation** between both countries.
• To ensure the efficient application of internal environmental law and regulations.
• The promotion of **sustainable development**.
• Cooperation in the conservation, protection, and improvement of the environment.
• The promotion of effective and economically efficient environmental measures.

Transparency and Public Participation

One of the main aspects of the agreement on environmental cooperation between Chile and Canada is the promotion of **transparency** and **public participation** in environmental management. Guided by this principle, both countries have created websites for the agreement to provide clear and updated information on the subject.

Key Terms:

• Signed: Signed
• Trade: Trade
• Agreement: Agreement
• Both: Both
• Main: Main
• Strengthen: Strengthen
• Between: Between
• Ensure: Ensure
• Law: Law
• Development: Development
• Measure: Measure
• Also: Also
• Environment: Environment
• Management: Management
• Provide: Provide
• Updated: Updated
• Subject: Subject
• Came into effect: Came into effect
• Largely: Largely
• Get: Get
• Ore: Ore
• Bioleaching: Bioleaching
• Before: Before
• Already: Already
• Chemoautotrophs: Chemoautotrophs
• Harvest: Harvest
• Through: Through
• Truly: Truly
• Successful: Successful
• As: As
• Find: Find
• Found: Found
• Almost: Almost
• Crust: Crust
• Survive: Survive
• Owned: Owned
• Tiny: Tiny
• Feed: Feed
• Cleaner: Cleaner
• Powerful: Powerful
• Poison: Poison
• Cyanide: Cyanide
• Besides: Besides
• Less: Less
• Little: Little
• Damage: Damage
• Since: Since
• Bacteria: Bacteria
• Bacterium: Bacterium
• Data: Data
• Datum: Datum