With the acceleration of the era of electric vehicles, lithium mines are becoming more and more important, even replacing crude oil and becoming a new industrial blood. This also makes Chile's vast lithium salt mines a vital national resource for the country.
On April 20, Chilean President Gabriel Boric said he would nationalize the country's lithium industry and that future contracts for lithium mining would only be awarded to state-controlled public-private partnerships. He emphasized that for projects of strategic value to the country, Chilean state-owned enterprises must occupy a controlling position in public-private partnerships.
Shares in Albemarle Corporation, the world's largest lithium producer, and SQM fell sharply after the Chilean government announced plans to nationalize lithium mines.
