Juan Carlos Vargas

Juan Carlos Vargas is an experienced professional in the fields of smelting and refining, currently serving as the Chief Advisor for Smelting & Refining at Rio Tinto since September 2025, providing technical support for global copper operations and projects. Prior to joining Rio Tinto, Vargas worked as the Chief Metallurgical Engineer at Glencore from October 2021 to August 2025 and held various significant roles at 5N Plus Inc., including Commercial Director of Recycling and Refining, where responsibilities encompassed commercial activities and sales in Latin America. Additional experience includes serving as Director of Business Development for Latin America at ENAMI Empresa Nacional de Minería, managing a $400 million copper smelter project, and numerous roles at CODELCO and ENAMI, ultimately advancing from process engineer to smelter superintendent over a 20-year tenure. Vargas holds a Diplomado in Project Management from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and a Master of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from Universidad de Atacama.