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Lithium

Mega deal between SQM and Codelco for lithium: Chilean State will own 50% plus 1%.

This agreement ensures the continuity of the production of lithium and other substances and broadens the scope of Codelco’s participation in the global challenge of energy transition, taking advantage of the opportunities generated by the intensive use of copper and…

Codelco creates two subsidiaries to articulate state role in lithium industry

Chile’s National Copper Corporation (Codelco) today presented two new companies created to explore and exploit lithium in the Andean country, which will articulate the state’s role in the national lithium strategy launched by the government last month. Codelco’s board of…

Why Lithium Power Politics Are Playing Out Very Differently in Chile and Bolivia

In late July, a large sinkhole appeared near the town of Tierra Amarilla in Chile’s Copiapó province in the Atacama salt flat. The crater, which has a diameter of more than 100 feet, emerged in one of Chile’s most lucrativeregions…

Chilean government awards lithium tender to two companies

The government of Sebastián Piñera, through the Ministry of Mining, notified the awarding of the bidding process to boost lithium production, giving two quotas to the companies BYD Chile SpA (of Chinese capital) and Servicios y Operaciones Mineras del Norte…

Popular pressure modifies Piñera’s opinion on lithium

Following strong protests on social networks and yesterday’s nationwide mobilisation in opposition to the privatisation of lithium, the incumbent President Sebastián Piñera issued a public statement saying that “Chile is the country with the largest lithium reserves in the world.…

Afghanistan sits on mineral wealth worth billions of dollars

While everyone in the world would say, Afghanistan is one of the world’s poorer countries, the fact is just the opposite. None of the so-called friendly nations of Afghanistan, including Pakistan and the United States had ever told the Afghans…

Premiere of the Argentinian documentary “In the Name of Lithium” on the conflict between indigenous communities and large-scale mining operations

The Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales de Argentina has just released “En el nombre del litio”, a documentary produced by FARN and Calma Cine that deals with the situation in northern Argentina regarding the exploitation of this “wonder mineral”. Directed…

German industry hopes to lift Bolivia’s lithium treasure

Bolivia boasts one of the biggest lithium reserves in the world. After Luis Arce was elected the country’s new president, exploration hopes are mounting, especially among German investors. The glory days of the mines in Bolivia’s Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain)…

Lithium and the Putsch

Berlin is again seeking access to the world’s largest lithium deposits located in Bolivia – after having supported the putschists. Following the presidential elections in Bolivia, the German government and business circles hope to have direct access to what are…

‘We Will Coup Whoever We Want’: Elon Musk and the Overthrow of Democracy in Bolivia

By Vijay Prashad and Alejandro Bejarano On July 24, 2020, Tesla’s Elon Musk wrote on Twitter that a second U.S. “government stimulus package is not in the best interests of the people.” Someone responded to Musk soon after, “You know…

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