Codelco seeks approvals to explore for lithium at Maricunga
SANTIAGO – Chile State miner Codelco filed with regulators on Friday a plan to begin exploration for lithium in its Maricunga salt flat holdings, a key step in advancing development of the country's second richest deposit of the metal needed for batteries.
The proposal, if approved, would allow Codelco, the world's top producer of copper, to pinpoint concentrations of lithium on the flat, estimate the size of the resource and identify necessary next steps.
The state-owned miner hopes to explore for as many as 10 months, the company said in a statement.
Codelco has for years talked of getting into the lithium business. But the cash-strapped miner has repeatedly delayed plans to develop its reserves to concentrate on copper, its primary business.
Demand for lithium is widely expected to skyrocket by 2025, but short-term oversupply has recently prompted several miners to delay major projects.
Chile possesses the world's largest reserves of lithium, a key ingredient in batteries for electric vehicles. But the nation's output has barely budged in recent years, as bureaucratic and environmental hurtles have long stymied development outside of the Atacama flat.
Maricunga's 145 km2 make it less than 5% of the size of the vast lithium-rich Salar de Atacama in northern Chile. But high-grade deposits of the ultralight metal in some parts of the flat make it attractive to several prospective miners, although fractured ownership has long slowed development.
Codelco announced in 2019 a non-binding agreement with miner Salar Blanco to explore a joint venture at Maricunga. Salar Blanco is 50% owned by Australia's Lithium Power International , with smaller stakes held by Canada's Bearing Lithium and local capital. The two miners have yet to announce a firm deal.
Top Chilean lithium miner SQM, the world's No. 2 producer of the metal, also has holdings at Maricunga.
Chile's mining ministry in November asked SQM to decide what it will do with its holdings in order to help expedite development. SQM has yet to make public a decision.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation