More people with money to spend Chile's economic boom has made a lot of people rich, but it is not only the rich who are benefiting. Over a million Chileans have emerged from poverty since 1980. Many are moving into a middle class that had already long been Latin America's largest as a percentage of the population. Because it's one of the most rapidly developing countries in the world, it offers excellent opportunities to make handsome profits. Underground bargains Mining accounts for less of a share of the economy than it used to, but it remains Chile's largest industry.
Chile is the largest producer and exporter of copper in the world.
Since 1995, however, copper, along with most other commodities, has been in a bear market. This, combined with trade shocks from the Asian crisis, caused the economy to contract by 1 percent over the last 12 months. What's more, the temporary economic downturn actually presents an opportunity for investors. In the last six months, commodities worldwide have begun to rally and copper in particular has rebounded by 25 percent. Now is an excellent time for foreign investors to take a look at mining investments in Chile.