The Chilean government’s new plan to usher in private investment at a number of the country’s lithium salt flats may stumble over unresolved details that will raise concerns for investors, mining executives and analysts said on Wednesday.
The state-developed projects alone are expected to double Chile’s output to about 500,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent by the end of decade, Mining Minister Aurora Williams said on Wednesday.Nearly 100 companies from a dozen countries have already approached the government to seek information about launching lithium projects, Williams said, including from the U.S. and China.
“It creates many potential conflicts, setting the stage for future judicial problems,” said Sebastian Yang, a board member of Simco Lithium, which has a project in the Maricunga salt flat.Chile’s Mining Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Companies must also grapple with a soft patch for lithium prices amid a slowdown in EV sales, which has changed the calculus for ensuring economically viable projects.
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