investors have responded positively to Chile’s new public-private partnership model for lithium during Finance Minister Mario Marcel’s trip to New York this week.
“The kind of response we’re getting from these discussions is positive, and for foreign investors it’s not particularly surprising that this is the alternative offered by the Chilean government,” Marcel said in an interview with “Bloomberg.”
In April, President Gabriel Boric announced a new strategy that will give Chile a central role in the development of the lithium industry, amid the sharp increase in demand by producers of batteries for electric vehicles.
The government plans to submit a bill to Congress this year to create a national lithium company that would own a stake in new projects and at least 51% of all operations in areas considered strategic.
Meanwhile, The government assigned state-owned copper producer Codelco the task of negotiating new contracts with “SQM” and “Albemarle Corp” to give the State majority stakes in its current projects.
The authorities plan to offer exploration permits to private parties in the first half of 2024.
