With this operation, which cost US$ 244 million, Codelco seeks to boost its presence in the lithium market, a key element for the energy transition, electromobility, among other aspects.
Codelco, the Chilean State copper company, acquired 100% of the shares of the Australian Lithium Power International Limited (LPI), and starting tomorrow, its shares will no longer be traded on that country's stock exchange.
It was in October 2023 that the state mining company announced that it would begin the purchase procedure of LPI, owner of the lithium project in the Maricunga Salar, which borders Codelco's properties on the same site.
CODELCO BUYS ALL THE SHARES OF AUSTRALIAN COMPANY LPI
“This is a very strategic purchase for Codelco, not only because of the value creation it generates for the company, the neighboring communities and the country, but also because it implies moving one step further in the mission of positioning ourselves as a relevant actor. for the global energy transition," commented the president of the Codelco board of directors, Máximo Pacheco, as quoted by Diario Financiero .
The operation cost about US$244 million, and had the approval of the LPI shareholders' meeting and the Australian government, along with the Federal Court and the stock market regulator of that country.
It is expected that when the lithium project in the aforementioned salt flat is completed, known as “Proyecto Blanco”, it will have a production of about 20 thousand tons of lithium carbonate and 58,000 tons of potassium chloride per year for 20 years.
It covers 2,563 hectares in the Salar de Maricunga and is considered the first lithium initiative in the Atacama region and the third at the national level in Chile, after those carried out in the Salar de Atacama by the American Albemarle and SQM, controlled by the Chinese Tianqi and Julio Ponce Lerou.
RELATIONSHIP WITH COMMUNITIES
Now, Codelco will not only have to invest in the development and exploitation of lithium, but also in its relationship with the communities that surround the salt flat.
In mid-January, one of the existing Colla communities in the area stated that they are “fearful that water resources will become scarce.” In addition, he pointed out that at the time the transaction began, they only had the information known to the press and that the date they considered for the business to be made public was only in February of this year.
However, as the weeks went by, there were meetings between both parties that, as the collaborator, Angela Cañupan, pointed out, follow the route of dialogue.
In turn, Máximo Pacheco pointed out that with this agreement, the copper mining company “becomes the main and largest actor in the Maricunga Salar for the extraction of lithium, the second most important after the Atacama Salar.”
“For this reason, it is important to us, as a priority, to develop an early relationship with the communities and establish a dialogue, participation to discuss environmental and community issues,” he stated.
