Posted on 05 Mar 2024
The Chilean government aims to have three or four new lithium projects in the country by 2026, the country’s finance minister Mario Marcel told reporters on Saturday.
The official was visiting US lithium giant Albemarle’s plants in northern Chile’s Antofagasta, accompanied by US treasury secretary Janet Yellen.
“We have set a goal – by 2026, we will have three or four more lithium projects under development in addition to the Albemarle and SQM projects that are already underway,” Marcel said.
At present, only Albemarle and SQM produce lithium in the South American country. Last year, Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced Chile’s national lithium strategy, which seeks public-private alliances, with the state taking a majority stake in the future exploration of the key battery material. As such, SQM and state-owned copper miner, Codelco (acting on behalf of the government), are entering a public-private partnership to explore Atacama salt flat lithium from 2025 to 2060.
The minister added that the government will share more details about the implementation of the lithium policy in the next few weeks, including details on the definition of the “strategic”, “protected” and “open” salt flats, Kallanish notes.
Meanwhile, Yellen on Saturday concluded a visit to Chile, which included meetings with Boric and Marcel. She suggested the US is likely to “substantially” expand its lithium imports from Chile.
“Chile, as a producer of lithium and copper, has a key role to play in this supply chain in the global transition to clean energy, and companies and the United States are investing in it,” Yellen said in a statement. “We see this as an opportunity for greater integration in the supply chain with benefits for both countries.”
Marcel added that Chile could become a strategic partner in the supply of materials and components critical to the development of the US clean energy industry. This would “allow both countries to take advantage of opportunities to promote of the production of goods with added value, the identification of synergies in value chains, the promotion of investment and technology transfer, among others.”
The US has a free trade agreement with Chile for 21 years. The status makes raw materials supplied from Chile eligible for IRA incentives.
Source:Kallanish
