SAMSSA explores partnerships with Chilean mining sector.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT: MINING

A flurry of international attention in Sudbury's mining supply sector has resulted in five agreements for local businesses, with the prospect of more on the way.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Eleven meetings were conducted over a two-day period in April between local members of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA) and a contingent of 20 business and agency representatives from the Chilean mining center of Antofagasta. Local companies such as BESTECH and Subcoe had the opportunity to sit with the likes of Codelco, a Chilean state-owned company and also the largest copper producer in the world.

While no names or details can yet be disclosed, due to the confidential nature of the agreements, SAMSSA Executive Director Dick DeStefano says that, following these talks, at least five companies have entered into the advanced stages of discussion for delivering products and services to Chilean firms.

"Sudbury's becoming a destination point, and you can talk about mining, but it's become the center for trades, tools, technology and applications," DeStefano says.

"There's been a real flush of global activity in this regard, and we're always at the table."

Although the contingent's week-long tour found them visiting such locations as Cambrian College and Laurentian University, the visit was motivated by an interest in local expertise in various fields. This include power generation, energy management, fragmentation of explosives, piping for desalinating ocean water, fabricators and rubber lining for heavy-duty vehicles.

This visit was part of a flurry of such activity in recent months. Through March and April, SAMSSA has also hosted delegates from South Africa and Brazil, both of which resulted in tentative business agreements with local companies. A government-hosted Peruvian delegation also arrived in Sudbury in May.

"They're really like trade...