Codelco, SQM Seal Lithium Venture in Chile’s Atacama Desert
Brine pools at a Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM) lithium mine on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama Desert, Chile.
Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/BloombergChile’s Codelco and SQM completed a landmark deal aimed at boosting lithium extraction from the country’s Atacama Desert, giving the government control of one of the world’s richest reserves of the metal.
The state-owned copper giant and lithium producer SQM formed a joint venture called NovaAndino Litio SpA by merging Codelco affiliate Minera Tarar SpA with SQM Salar SpA, the companies said in a statement on Saturday. The deal will have a positive and material impact on Codelco’s 2025 financial results, the companies said.