Aurora Elvira Williams Baussa (born 13 August 1962) is a Chilean business engineer. She was the Chilean Minister of Mining from 11 March 2014 to 11 March 2016. In an August 2023 Cabinet reshuffle, Boric re-appointed Williams as Minister of Mining, where she would replace Marcela Hernando.

Education

Williams studied commercial engineering at the

Catholic University of the North Catholic University of the North (Spanish: ''Universidad Católica del Norte'' (UCN)) is a university in Chile. It is part of the Chilean Traditional Universities. It is located in Antofagasta, Chile. The Catholic University of the North was fo ...

and earned a master's degree from the

University of Lleida The University of Lleida (officially in Catalan: ''Universitat de Lleida'') is a university based in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It was the first university founded in Catalonia and in the ancient Crown of Aragon. It was founded in 1300, using the ...

in Business Administration and Management.

Career

During from 2006 to 2010, Williams served as a regional ministerial secretary of public works in

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. Once claimed by Bolivia follo ...

. This role made her the official responsible for the reconstruction in the area of the city following the

2007 Tocopilla earthquake The 2007 Tocopilla earthquake occurred on November 14 at . Its epicenter was located between Quillagua and Tocopilla, affecting the Tarapacá and the Antofagasta regions in northern Chile. The earthquake had a moment magnitude of 7.7 and lasted ...

. Later, she worked as an administrative and financial manager for the Antofagasta Terminal International (ATI), a mining company that handled 60% of all mining shipments in

Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region (, ) is one of Chile's Administrative divisions of Chile, sixteen first-order administrative divisions. Being the second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, El ...

. In March 2014, Williams became Minister of Mining, making her the second woman to hold the post since

Karen Poniachik Karen Paulina Poniachik Pollak (20 April 1965 – 12 October 2022) was a Chilean journalist, consultant, and politician. She served as Minister of Mining and Energy during the first government of President Michelle Bachelet. Poniachik was born ...

. In this capacity, she immediately became president of the board of directors of the state-owned National Mining Company (ENAMI) and the

Chilean Copper Commission 250px, Logotype of the Chilean Copper Commission. The Chilean Copper Commission (Spanish: ''Comisión Chilena del Cobre'') or COCHILCO from its Spanish initialls is a technical agency aimed to provide advice to the Chilean government on issues rela ...

(COCHILCO). During her term as Minister of Mining, Williams repealed the Ley Reservada del Cobre, approved capital funding for the COCHILCO from

Codelco The National Copper Corporation of Chile (), abbreviated as Codelco, is a Chilean state-owned mining company and the largest copper mining company in the world. It was formed in 1976 from foreign-owned copper companies that were nationalised in 1 ...

, and passed legislation for small copper mining businesses. She was also responsible for the closure of the controversial Chilean-Argentine

Pascua Lama Pascua-Lama is an open pit mining project of gold, silver, copper and other minerals. Pascua Lama is located in the Andes mountains, in the southern reaches of Atacama Desert, straddling the border between Chile and the Argentina Northwest at a ...

and the Dominga projects, and for the rescue of two miners following a flood in a mine in

Chile Chico Chile Chico (spanish language, Spanish for ''Little Chile'') is a List of towns in Chile, town in General Carrera Province, Aisén Region, Patagonia, Chile. It is located on the south shore of Buenos Aires/General Carrera Lake, General Carrera L ...

. Boric re-appointed Williams as Minister of Mining in August 2023, where she would replace Marcela Hernando.

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Aurora Living people 1962 births Catholic University of the North alumni Ministers of mining of Chile Radical Social Democratic Party of Chile politicians Radical Party of Chile politicians University of Lleida alumni People from Antofagasta Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit