The duck BYD got is going to fly? The Chilean court suspended the lithium production contract awarded by the government.

Chilean courts have suspended two lithium production contracts awarded by the government this week, according to the Chilean judiciary on Friday. In investigating the matter, the court accepted the injunction against the bidding process. At this point, the already controversial tender regeneration variables, BYD's plan to distribute lithium mines has also been hit, which may also push lithium prices up further.

In October last year, the Chilean government announced that it would provide five quotas of 80, 000 tons to domestic and overseas companies, totaling 400000 tons of exploration and production contracts, and the winning bidder would be given seven years of exploration and development projects and 20 years of production time. The bid will end in mid-January, with the participation of Chilean mining and chemical companies (SQM), the world's two largest lithium giants, and (Albemarle), an American company.

The outgoing government is seeking to reverse the country's declining share of the global lithium market, but the Chilean government's push to mine lithium has drawn harsh criticism from president-elect Gabriel Baldrick and other opposition groups who are trying to stop the bidding process.

After Chile's Ministry of Mines announced the winning bidder on January 12th, some dissenting members of the House of Commons rushed out of the special lithium meeting to submit the tender case to the Auditor General's Office.

According to a previous statement sent by the Chilean Ministry of Mines via email, Chile gave two of the five lithium mining contracts to BYD Chile and Servicios y Mineras del Norte. BYD offered $61 million and, Servicios y Opperciones offered $60 million. Each contract grants a quota of 80,000 tons of lithium production. These contracts account for about 1.8 per cent of Chile's known lithium reserves.

'While the current government has the power to award contracts, its decisions are like laws that bind you at the last minute of the end of the government, 'Mr. Baldrick told reporters on Wednesday.

According to the (USGS) statistics of the US Geological Survey, the global lithium reserves in 2020 is about 21 million tons, of which Chile's lithium reserves is 9.2 million tons, accounting for 44% of the global share, ranking first in the world.

Chilean Mining and Chemical Industry and Abel of the United States are currently the only two lithium producers in Chile. Last year, Chile produced about 18000 tons of lithium.