The country has Prochile and one of that organisation's roles is to try and build opportunities for its METS sector.

Its plan to do that is quite simple. Firstly it identified those METS companies already exporting and also decided what markets it wanted to chase.

Australia, Argentina, Canada and Peru are the main targets.

Then it set up offices in each of those countries and set about identifying the companies most likely to be able to make the most of exporting.

Prochile ended up with a list of 100 companies.

Its plan to introduce those companies to their target markets involves taking them to trade shows.

Prochile business development manager - mining in Australia Giancarlo Tosti-Croce said the aim was to make those METS companies it had chosen into world-class suppliers.

Tosti-Croce's role is not just to help these companies get a foothold in the Australian market.

It is also to provide them with market intelligence.

Such intelligence could suggest to them that it may be better to consider other markets instead of Australia.

Consider the cost of shipping goods from Chile to Australia. If the business revolves around large equipment, perhaps moving into the Australian market may not be the best idea. It might be better to consider the closer markets of Peru and Argentina.

However, there are also Chilean METS players that have quite easily transportable offerings that could be able to carve a niche in the Australian market.

One such player is Vizutire, which has developed a system to check large mining tyres for damage using an ultrasound device.

It can tell in minutes whether a cut on a tyre is game over for the wheel or if it can be easily fixed.

Alternatively it can scan an entire tyre in two hours.

Then there is Biohydro, a specialist in leaching systems.

The company manufactures its own irrigation systems, making all the plastic components from scratch at its Iquique, Chile factory.

Biohydro also developed Leachtrol, a control system for leach systems, that brings to a heap leach set up the sort of monitoring and control mines have in solvent extraction-electrowinning plants.

It tailors its heap leach systems for each client.

Tosti-Croce said while Prochile would be bringing Chilean METS businesses to Australia, there was no rush for them to get started on trying to break into the market.

"Some of the companies we have here are just exploring the market," he said.

"They will go back to Chile and think about it. They want to talk face to face with potential export customers."

Tosti-Croce said for Australian companies looking to export to Chile one of the best ways forward was to establish a partnership with a local company.

That can help get around the problems of language and culture.

However, it does not have to be that way.

Tosti-Croce points to software maker Maptek, which set up an office in Chile and staffed it with local computer programmers and set about developing products.

Some of those products are being sent around the world.

Another example Tosti-Croce points to is Orica, Australia's largest METS business.

It set up an operation in Chile - indeed its centre of excellence for copper is there - that is now exporting explosives back to Australia.