Chile aims to outline state lithium firm model this year, Minister says
SANTIAGO - Chile's government, which has pledged to establish a state lithium firm to develop the ultra-light battery metal, hopes to establish a model for the company by the end of the year, mining minister Marcela Hernando told local paper La Tercera on Sunday.
The South American country is the world's second largest producer of lithium, a key component for electric car batteries, with its domestic industry currently dominated by two private firms Albemarle and SQM.
However, the government of new leftist President Gabriel Boric, like administrations in Mexico and Argentina, is keen to get more closely involved in the booming market for lithium, which has seen prices soar over the last year.
Hernando said a specialized group was being formed to define the best design to operate the company.
"We hope to have the proposal for how this company will be as an institution and the business model in which it will operate before the end of the year," she said.
The minister reiterated that the government was open to the participation of private capital in the firm, although with the State as the main shareholder.
President Boric, who came into office in March, said during the election campaign that Chile should not commit the "historic mistake" of privatizing its resources again and reiterated his interest in creating the company for the development of lithium.
Hernando added that lithium would not be included in the plans to apply a mining royalty, as part of an ambitious tax agenda promoted by the government.
"The evaluations we have made is that it is very complex, since lithium is an industry that is not very mature," she said.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation