Chile, copper: ‘Chile produces 28% of the world’s output of copper. The industry accounts for almost 10% of GDP, 48% of exports and a third of foreign direct investment. Copper has helped make Chileans the richest people in South America. In 2016 Michelle Bachelet, then the president, announced a plan to encourage manufacturing and innovation at home through the use of another metal that Chile has in abundance: lithium. This is used in batteries for mobile phones, laptops and electric cars. The idea was for Chile not only to mine the metal but also to make components for car batteries, the fastest-growing part of the market, (Source: ‘Just-in-Brine production’, The Economist 5th Oct 2019, p.44). Chile has 42% of the world’s lithium reserves (The Economist 26th March 2022, p.62).