EXCLUSIVE: Chile mines minister clarifies controversial new lithium strategy – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – May 16, 2023)

https://www.mining.com/

A decision by Chile, the world’s no. 2 lithium producer, to tighten control over the key battery metal sector has triggered speculation on what the announced state-led public-private model will look like and how it may affect the global industry.

To address market rumours and clarify aspects of the strategy described by some as “vague”, MINING.COM spoke with Chile’s mining minister Marcela Hernando, who noted the country had announced a strategy, rather than a policy.

“It will become a public policy when it has legitimacy and it is supported by all the political forces of the country,” Hernando said. Reaching the point of public policy, which includes the creation of a national lithium company (Enal), could take years.

President Gabriel Boric has, in the interim, enlisted two other state-owned companies — Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, and state miner Enami — to determine how the private-public partnerships will operate.

For the rest of this article: https://www.mining.com/chile-to-negotiate-with-lithium-partners-on-case-by-case-basis-minister/