The Chilean government has unveiled an ambitious plan to double its lithium output over the next decade.
The motivation behind this push lies in the nation's recognition of the potential risks posed by lithium shortages, which could lead to significant economic repercussions for the second-largest producer of this metal critical for clean energy transition.
"Production needs to increase so that it remains profitable and attractive to manufacture lithium batteries for electro-mobility," Chilean Finance Minister Mario Marcel said in an interview for Bloomberg.
The Chilean government's strategy involves opening up 26 new salt flats for lithium extraction. Among these salt flats, the Atacama and Maricunga salars stand out as the largest and most strategically significant, with a combined lithium potential of 10.8 million tonnes, representing 64% of global reserves.
While Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) and Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) currently dominate lithium extraction in Chile, the government's projections indicate a quadrupling of global demand by 2030, reaching 1.8 million tonnes.
To meet this anticipated surge in demand, Chilean authorities are facilitating partnerships between state-owned entities and private firms, ensuring a balance between government control and private sector participation.
President Gabriel Boric's administration has a comprehensive lithium policy, delineating state control and private investment areas. This plan includes creating protected salt flats to preserve environmentally sensitive areas while promoting sustainable lithium extraction practices.
Despite having water supply issues in its lithium-rich northern regions, Chile is not yet including new extraction technologies as a requirement in a new contract, as Marcel characterized them as "a desirable variable" rather than a requirement.
Meanwhile, the lithium plans in the U.S. need to be revised due to bureaucracy and outdated laws.
"I don't even know where to start in terms of working with the local authorities to get brine mineral rights in Texas. It's confusing," said Brady Murphy, CEO of Tetra Technologies, in an interview for Reuters.
Tetra, an industry leader with patented technology for bromine production, has over 40,000 acres of brine leases in Arkansas, collaborating on lithium extraction with Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM). However, per Murphy's words, owing to legal uncertainty opted not to do business in Texas, where potential lithium reserves remain largely untapped.
Similar challenges persist in other mineral-rich states, underscoring the need for streamlined regulations to foster investment and innovation in lithium extraction. By resolving that situation, policymakers could create value on multiple fronts: new domestic jobs, higher lithium supply and a boost in exports by licensing extraction technology to foreign producers.
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智利政府公佈了一項雄心勃勃的計劃,計劃在未來十年將其鋰產量翻一番。
這一舉措背後的動機在於該國認識到鋰短缺帶來的潛在風險,這可能會對這種對清潔能源轉型至關重要的金屬的第二大生產商造成重大的經濟影響。
智利財政部長馬里奧·馬塞爾在接受彭博社採訪時說:“需要增加產量,這樣才能保持盈利和吸引力,製造用於電動汽車的鋰電池。”
智利政府的戰略包括開放26個新的鹽灘用於鋰開採。在這些鹽灘中,阿塔卡馬和馬裏昆加鹽田是規模最大、最具戰略意義的鹽灘,其總鋰潛力爲1,080萬噸,佔全球儲量的64%。
儘管智利興業公司(紐約證券交易所代碼:SQM)和雅寶公司(紐約證券交易所代碼:ALB)目前在智利的鋰開採中佔據主導地位,但政府的預測表明,到2030年,全球需求將翻兩番,達到180萬噸。
爲了滿足預期的需求激增,智利當局正在促進國有實體與私營企業之間的夥伴關係,確保政府控制和私營部門參與之間的平衡。
加布裏埃爾·博裏克總統的政府制定了全面的鋰政策,劃定了國家控制和私人投資領域。該計劃包括創建受保護的鹽灘以保護環境敏感區域,同時促進可持續的鋰開採實踐。
儘管富含鋰的北部地區存在供水問題,但智利尚未將新的開採技術列爲新合同的要求,因爲馬塞爾將其描述爲 “理想的變量”,而不是要求。
同時,由於官僚主義和過時的法律,美國的鋰計劃需要修改。
“在與地方當局合作以獲得德克薩斯州的鹽水礦產權方面,我甚至不知道從哪裏開始。這令人困惑。” 利樂科技首席執行官布雷迪·墨菲在接受路透社採訪時說。
Tetra是擁有溴生產專利技術的行業領導者,在阿肯色州擁有超過40,000英畝的鹽水租約,與埃克森美孚(紐約證券交易所代碼:XOM)合作開採鋰。但是,根據墨菲的話說,由於法律的不確定性,他們選擇不在德克薩斯州做生意,那裏的潛在鋰儲量基本上仍未開發。
其他礦產資源豐富的州仍然存在類似的挑戰,這凸顯了簡化監管以促進鋰開採投資和創新的必要性。通過解決這種情況,決策者可以在多個方面創造價值:新的國內就業機會、增加鋰供應以及通過向外國生產商許可開採技術來促進出口。
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