Australian junior explorers such as Chinalco Yunnan Copper (CYU) do well in Chile because it is the reverse of Australia.

In Chile the major miners dominate the exploration spend for copper, leaving anything below a few hundred million tonnes of the mineral or even higher up for grabs.

CYU, whose biggest shareholder is Chinese government-backed aluminium giant Chinalco (which holds 22 per cent), is optimistic of finding a deposit worth mining in the South American nation.

It also has the luxury of boasting joint venture partners with Rio Tinto and Xstrata in Chile’s Atacama Desert, the world’s driest.

“It has been nice to get initial encouragement from our drilling … we’ve got a very strong probability of hitting a significant porphyry (deposit),” CYU chief executive Jason Beckton told reporters in Iquique in northern Chile.

“Realistically we’re looking at 250 million tonnes.”

Mr Beckton, a geologist, hopes CYU will start production at a relatively small existing copper mine the company owns in Laos by next year to help pay for its Chilean projects.

The 41-year-old moved with his wife and three young children to the Chilean capital Santiago a year ago.

He said he found Santiago safer than most Australian cities, although that is perversely considered partly a legacy of the repressive Pinochet regime.

The relative lack of crime and Chile’s geology are big attractions for Australian miners.

Denver-based mining business consultant Behre Dolbear has ranked Australia, Canada, Chile, Brazil and Mexico as the top five nations most mining friendly locations.

However, prospective miners should be aware there are a host of legal and bureaucratic differences between Australia and Chile, says Australian-born Chilean-based lawyer Harris Gomez.

Almost all the prospective land in Chile is already claimed and you have to hire a lawyer to find out who owns or claims it, unlike in Australia where a mines department keeps a register.

Mr Gomez says it is more difficult in Chile to get environment permits to drill and approval takes longer than Australia.

On the positive side, you don’t need a local Chilean national to sit on your board and employment contracts are only about two pages long compared to complex contracts in Australia.

Business deals in Chile, such as buying a mine, are more protracted but there are generally fewer legal disputes later.

Chile is so highly regarded by Ballarat mining services company Gekko Systems that it runs its South American office out of Santiago, despite its operations being in other countries including Peru and Colombia.

Mr Gomez estimated it was about 20 to 25 per cent cheaper to run a business in Chile than Australia.

He said Chileans and Australians tended to get along well, with Chileans regarded as more rigid and conservative than other Latin Americans.

“Even among Latinos, Chileans are regarded as a bit more boring, conservative whilst Aussies are regarded as more relaxed among Anglo Saxons. It’s a nice little overlap,” he said.

* Greg Roberts visited Chile as a guest of Chinalco Yunnan Copper Resources and Condor Blanco Mines.