Codelco seeks investors for its Maricunga lithium project and tries to advance JV negotiations with SQM

Chile's national mining company, Codelco, is actively seeking investors for its Maricunga lithium project in which Codelco has a 65% stake after its purchase of the Australia-based company Lithium Power International in which month/which year. Codelco's chairman, Maximo Pacheco, revealed that investment bank Rothschild is tasked with finding potential partners by year-end, offering a 49% project share.

Simultaneously, Codelco is negotiating a joint venture with SQM in the Atacama salt flat. The negotiation deadline has been extended to 31 May, and many obstacles have emerged for the two parties to resolve. For example, amid community concerns over water use, four major indigenous groups withdrew from talks, criticising the negotiation efforts as insufficient, following the road blocking protest that happened last December.

Despite the setbacks, Codelco remains optimistic about meeting the negotiation deadline at the end of May for the Atacama JV while no significant updates regarding the process are provided or disclosed.

Author: Hongqiu Su | Battery Metals Analyst Associate | London Office, Shanghai Metals Market
Email: lilysu@smm.cn