SYDNEY (miningweekly.com) – Australian investment in Latin America could top A$150-billion over the next decade, as more Australian miners invested in the region, Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr said on Wednesday.

Speaking on the first day of the Paydirt Latin America Downunder conference, in Sydney, Carr noted that there were currently some 80 Australian mining companies involved in 200 projects within Latin America.

“Australian miners have a record of international excellence. The reputation of Australian mining is not just built on skill at digging, but also in the care of environmental issues, for the wellbeing of local communities.”

Carr pointed out that Australia and Latin America had similar resource endowments and common environmental challenges, which gave the countries the opportunity to work together to advance multilateral interest, including trade liberalisation, food security and climate change.

Carr noted that together, Australia and Brazil were the top two suppliers of iron-ore in the world, while Chile was the world’s largest copper producer and the third-largest molybdenum producer.

Peru, meanwhile, was the second-largest copper producer and the sixth-largest gold producer.

Argentina, in turn, had the third-largest shale gas reserve, after China and the US.

“Australian mining investment in Latin America has arguably been light years ahead of a more general link between our continents, and its growing fast,” Carr said.

The Minister noted that Australia’s overseas miners acted as ambassadors for the country, and noted that the government would continue to back the industry’s efforts to spread the skills of sustainable mining around the world.

“From Australia’s perspective, Latin America is a region of vast potential on the rise – our mining industry has shown it understands that as clearly as any industry.

“Our job, in government, will be to make the most of the links we have, to set a stage in which new ties can be built, and encourage the interaction that will be to our mutual benefit,” Carr concluded.