CHILEAN President Gabriel Boric recently announced efforts to nationalize the lithium industry of the country.
Under the initiative, the Chilean government will be establishing a state-owned company to produce the rare metal which is a key component of electric vehicle batteries.
In a statement, Boric said, Chile will participate in the whole lithium production cycle and create a National Lithium Company to do so,
“The state will participate in the whole [lithium] production cycle and create a National Lithium Company to do so,” said Gabriel Boric, President of Chile.
For now, the plan must first be approved by Congress.
And while waiting for approval, two other state-owned companies-state mining company Enami and the world’s largest producer of copper, Codelco, will try to find ways how to operate private-public partnerships.
Chile is currently the world’s largest lithium reserve and is the second-largest producer of lithium, and the demand for lithium is expected to increase amid the transition to renewable energy and growth in e-vehicles that are powered by lithium batteries.
