As part of Mining Month, the director of the CEDENNA Foundation, Dr. Dora Altbir, published in Radio Cooperativa an opinion column titled “Nanotechnology and mining: a virtuous partnership”, in which she reflects on the growing impact of nanotechnology on Chile’s most important industry.
In her text, Dr. Altbir highlights that nanotechnology, a discipline that works with materials at tiny scales, even smaller than microscopic, has begun to quietly but powerfully transform the development of modern mining. Applications such as high-sensitivity sensors, ultra-resistant materials, environmental remediation techniques and new forms of energy storage make it possible to move towards more efficient, safe and sustainable mining.
At CEDENNA, we have been contributing to this process for more than a decade through the development of sensors that monitor the condition of mining equipment online and technologies that enable the detection of rare earths. We also work on solutions for the remediation of soils and waters contaminated by heavy metals such as arsenic, lead or cadmium, using nanoparticles that neutralize contaminants with much greater efficiency than traditional methods.
One of the most significant examples is the application of nanoremediation techniques in soils near tailings in the Antofagasta Region, where iron nanoparticles make it possible to immobilize heavy metals, protecting the environment and the health of local communities.
The column concludes with a clear vision: nanotechnology can play a key role on the path towards more modern and sustainable mining, contributing from science to the country’s great challenges.
You can read the full column here: https://opinion.cooperativa.cl/opinion/ciencia-y-tecnologia/nanotecnologia-y-mineria-una-sociedad-virtuosa/2025-07-29/111818.html
