“This is the best chance we have at transitioning to a sustainable and developed economy. We can’t afford to waste it,” Boric said in an address televised nationwide.
Albemarle said the announcement would have “no material impact on our business” and it would continue talks on investing in further growth and using new technologies in Chile.South Korean battery maker SK On, which has a long-term supply contract with SQM, said it would monitor the development and respond with a long term view.
“When or if battery makers renew their contracts with lithium firms in Chile, contract conditions would likely become more difficult than what they saw in the past when there was no state involvement,” said Cho Hyunryul, an analyst at Samsung Securities. Congress has been a check on many of Boric’s more ambitious proposals and shelved a proposed tax reform bill in early March.
Privately held Summit Nanotech Corp, which is developing direct lithium extraction technology, welcomed the announcement.