When José Antonio Kast came into power in Chile on 11 March 2026, he promised a shift toward a more market-friendly environment and reforms to accelerate investment in mining, critical minerals and energy. These are areas of concrete and strategic interest for the United Kingdom.
The start of Kast's government in this regard has been promising. In under two months, projects worth around US$22 billion have entered Chile's Environmental Impact Assessment System. This is the largest two-month intake since the return to democracy in 1990. The Committee of Ministers, in four sessions, has unblocked US$3.4 billion of stalled investment projects. Qualification resolutions, which previously required six months, are now being issued within fifteen working days.
Chile has the largest proven copper reserves in the world and among the largest lithium reserves. The growing demand for both materials is driven by the AI revolution and the energy transition. This demand is seen as an opportunity for Chile to attract investment and boost growth after a decade of underperformance.
The 2019 social outbreak and two failed attempts to rewrite the constitution introduced legal uncertainty in Chile. Permitting times lengthened. Project pipelines stalled. Chile lost ground to newer mining destinations, such as Argentina under Javier Milei, Brazil's expanding lithium frontier, the Democratic Republic of Congo for cobalt and copper, and the United States, which is actively subsidising the onshoring of critical-minerals mining and processing.
Kast’s proposal is the "National Reconstruction and Economic Development" bill. Submitted to Congress last month, the package introduces reforms to restore Chile's appeal to foreign capital by removing key investment barriers. Its main impact is to accelerate approval of large-scale projects through a strengthened Environmental Assessment Service (SEA), a clarified Environmental Framework Law, and a fast-track applicant procedure. For British companies, this faster and more predictable permitting process is the most material reform on the table.
The bill also includes a gradual corporate rate cut from 27 to 23 per cent by 2029. It introduces a 25-year tax-invariability regime for investments above US$50 million. This mechanism echoes the security once provided by the Foreign Investment Statute (DL 600). That statute anchored Chile's golden era of investment, but was repealed under Michelle Bachelet's centre-left government.
Kast’s bill faces two obstacles: no working majority in Congress and fiscal strain. Public debt closed 2025 at 43.3 per cent of GDP, still below the OECD average, but rising, alongside a 2.8 per cent fiscal deficit.
The government aims to close the gap through aggressive fiscal adjustment. The political cost could prove too high. Attracting the investment needed to drive growth could allow a less painful adjustment. The acceleration of permits is the first step.
Even if the legislative package stalls, the SEA seems committed to expediting permits and clearing the project pipeline. However, such an initiative should be accompanied by a matching commitment from local authorities and by companies’ willingness to work with the communities to smooth the approval of projects.
For the UK, the timing of Chile's turn is significant. Britain's 2025 Critical Minerals Strategy admits falling behind in securing access to the much-needed materials for the AI revolution and other key industries, including defence. Other countries are not waiting. Beijing has accelerated the acquisitions of new mining projects in South America and Africa. In the last year alone, the United States committed nearly US$15 billion to critical mineral projects. The European Union is rolling out its own strategic framework.
Chile could provide a promising British response; it is the world's largest copper producer and the second-largest producer of lithium, and a rare processor of both lithium carbonate and hydroxide.
The UK ranks third in the project portfolio InvestChile tracked through 2025, with US$7.7 billion in proposed investment, behind the United States and Denmark. This sits on top of an existing stock position of around US$16 billion, concentrated in mining and energy. British miners, as Antofagasta and Anglo American, operate some of the world's largest copper mines in Chile. And Rio Tinto's joint venture with Chile's state mining company ENAMI at the Salares Altoandinos lithium project has emerged as a leading template for public-private cooperation. Last January, the British Geological Survey signed cooperation agreements with National Geology and Mining Service (Sernageomin) and the National Lithium and Salt Flats Institute (InLiSa).
The UK is a longstanding partner for Chile with a proven record of investing in long-cycle projects. Kast's first sixty days have set the stage for the UK to turn this longstanding relationship into a broader strategic advantage for both countries.
Marcela Vélez-Plickert is a Latin American journalist based in London, specialising in finance, economics and emerging markets. She is the editor and host of Primer Click, Diario Financiero’s daily international economics and finance newsletter and podcast.
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