The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, affirmed this Monday that his national strategy for lithium considers a “close collaboration between the public and the private”with the objective of positioning the country at the world vanguard in mineral exploitation.
“There is no single recipe, each country has done it in different ways. We propose a roadmap that has principles that are in no way contradictory. I am convinced that with the leadership of the State, added to the experience of the private sector, we can develop new projects in the short term.”, pointed out the Chilean president.
The head of state gave a speech at the inauguration of the XVII version of Expomin, the largest mining fair in Latin America.
Last week, on national television, Boric presented this new policy, an initiative that contemplates the creation of a National company With which, along with other elements, it will seek to position Chile, which has the largest exploitable reserves in the world, as the leading producer on the planet.
“The proposal that we have made pursues a single purpose, which is to generate greater well-being for the people of ChileBoric pointed out.
“There are many who have understood the strategy in this way and have valued the proposal, not only politically but also economically and commercially, because they see in it alternatives to develop new businesses where there were none before,” emphasized the Chilean head of state. .
In addition, he responded to the doubts and criticisms that the announcement received, while, according to some business actors, it gives private companies a secondary role.
“We are opening possibilities for investors to explore new paths. Going from extracting lithium to producing carbonate or hydroxide of ever better quality, improving production techniques, generating studies, technology transfer, and why not, in the medium term, generating energy storage batteries (…)” Boric detailed.
“Our government is concerned and busy so that all of you (private sector) can develop your business with the greatest possible certainty (…) We trust in the value and importance of the private sector, I also invite you to trust in the seriousness of the State”, he pointed out.
Despite the fact that there are more than 50 salt flats in Chile, currently only one is exploited, the Salar de Atacama, the largest in Chile and the third largest in the world and which concentrates 90% of the lithium reserves in the country.
Today there are only two companies in charge of exploiting Chilean lithium: Sociedad Química y Minera SQM, controlled by the Chinese company Tianqi and the son-in-law of former dictator Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), Julio Ponce Lerou; and the American Albemarle.
According to the Autonomous Fiscal Council (CFA), in 2022 the State received more than 5,000 million dollars for the exploitation of this mineral, equivalent to 1.6% of GDP.
Chile is the second world producer of lithiumbehind Australia, but Argentina could gain positions in the coming years and leave it behind.
In 2022 there were sales of lithium carbonate abroad for 7,763 million dollars, an increase of 777% compared to 2021, according to the Central Bank. With this performance, lithium carbonate surpassed salmon, iron and cherries in the Chilean export basket.
(With information from EFE)
Keep reading:
