📝Seminar “INNOVATING TOGETHER: Critical Raw Materials, Waste Valorisation & Climate Action – Chile–Belgium Cooperation”

You are kindly invited to register for our high-level seminar organized in the context of the Belgian State Visit to Chile. The event brings together leading experts from Chile and Belgium to exchange on innovation in raw materials, circular mining, and climate action.

📍 Location: Sheraton Santiago Hotel and Convention Center, Santiago, Chile
📅 Date: June 24th, 2025
🕘 Time: 09:00–14:00 (GMT-4)
📣 Language: English
🎫 Participation is free of charge, but registration is mandatory.

📅 Agenda

09:00–09:30 | Registration & Welcome Coffee

General Moderator: Koen Verlaeckt, Secretary General, VLUHR

09:30–09:45 | Opening Remarks

Lieven Machiels, Coordinator for Latin America, Sustainable Metals & Minerals Institute – SIM² KU Leuven; Founder of MinEra

09:45–10:30 | Panel 1: Responsible Production of Strategic and Critical Raw Materials

Moderator: Nand Peeters, SOLVOMET, KU Leuven
Panelists:
1. Javier Silva, Corporate Affairs Manager, SQM
2. Max Larraín, Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Manager, ACLARA
3. Humberto Estay Cuenca, Director, Advanced Mining Technology Centre, Universidad de Chile
4. Lilian De Lourdes Velásquez Yévenes, Professor, Mining Engineering Department, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
5. Nele Van Roey, CEO, MOLYMET Belgium

10:30–11:15 | Panel 2: Circularity in Mining – Metals and Construction Materials from Mining Residues

Moderator: Lieven Machiels, Sustainable Metals & Minerals Institute – SIM² KU Leuven
Panelists:
1. Fernando Hentzschel Martínez, Head of Technological Capabilities, CORFO
2. Andoni Torrontegui, Head of New Business, ENAMI
3. Bernardita Mancilla, Director of Circular Economy and Responsible Production, CODELCO
4. Marcelo González Hormazábal, Associate Professor, Researcher Centro de Innovación del Hormigón UC, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
5. Prakash Advani, CEO, Group Machiels

11:15–11:45 | Coffee Break

11:45–12:30 | Panel 3: Climate Change Adaptation & Mitigation

Moderator: Rodrigo Cortés, Manager of Technology Transfer, Advanced Mining Technology Centre, Universidad de Chile
Panelists:
1. Aníbal Pauchard, Professor of Forest Sciences, Universidad de Concepción
2. Arnold Janssens, Professor of Building Physics, UGent
3. James McPhee, Professor of Civil Engineering, Universidad de Chile
4. Pablo Contreras Silva, Head of Climate Action, CODELCO
5. Simon Hendrick, CEO, SOLCOR (EMAT)

12:30–12:45 | Roundup – Concluding Remarks

13:00–14:00 | Networking Drink & Sandwich Lunch

Jointly organised with Flanders Investment & Trade, AWEX and hub.brussels, the organisers of the afternoon High-Level Economic Dialogue