Why Chile’s New Approach to Lithium Matters Globally

As minerals that feed electric-vehicle batteries become the new oil, the highest-value battery metal is lithium — and the nation with the most of it is Chile. That’s why Chile’s new approach to lithium, one that tips the balance away from private companies and toward government control, is of keen global interest.

The government of President Gabriel Boric wants the state to take a controlling stake in operations considered strategically significant, with twin goals of making lithium production more sustainable and generating more money for the country. Ultimately, Boric wants to create a national company that calls the shots in partnerships with private companies. (The proposal draws on nostalgia surrounding the 1970s expropriation of copper mines.) Local communities are to get a bigger say in projects, which will be required to use a technique — direct lithium extraction — that would minimize water loss but is relatively untested at scale.