As we speak, the primary board assembly of Nova Andino Litio SpA, the three way partnership between Codelco and SQM that may develop lithium manufacturing within the Atacama Salt Flat, was held. The board of administrators of the brand new firm consists of Máximo Pacheco M, Josefina Montenegro A and Alfredo Moreno Ch representing Codelco, and Ricardo Ramos R Hernán Uribe G and Manuel Ovalle E. representing SQM.
On the assembly, Máximo Pacheco was elected Chairman and Ricardo Ramos was elected Vice Chairman. Carlos Díaz, the present Basic Supervisor of SQM Litio, was appointed GM of NovaAndino Litio and Eduardo Foix was appointed Finance Supervisor.
The institution of the three way partnership culminates a course of that started in Might 2023, when negotiations between the 2 corporations formally commenced inside the framework of the Nationwide Lithium Technique, which mandated the direct participation of the State in lithium manufacturing operations within the Atacama Salt Flat. These discussions resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding introduced in December of that yr. Subsequently, intensive technical, authorized and regulatory work commenced, together with the lively participation of the Indigenous communities inhabiting the territory. This course of was consolidated with the signing of the Partnership Settlement on Might 31, 2024, which established a transparent roadmap with demanding preconditions aimed toward making certain authorized certainty, acquiring regulatory and sustainability approvals, and creating worth for the State of Chile.
The settlement was topic to an exhaustive and unprecedented evaluate course of, each in Chile and in eight different international locations, involving greater than 20 public and regulatory authorities and our bodies, Codelco says.
On the nationwide degree, numerous features of the transaction have been reviewed by the Nationwide Financial Prosecutor’s Workplace (FNE), the Monetary Market Fee (CMF), the Chilean Nuclear Vitality Fee (CChEN) and the Comptroller Basic of the Republic. This was complemented by intensive judicial scrutiny, with various actions together with writs of safety, financial safety appeals, claims of illegality and lawsuits looking for annulment. All of the actions and appeals filed which have concluded have been rejected by the Courts of Appeals or the Supreme Courtroom. There was additionally intensive evaluation within the legislative area, after the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate have been knowledgeable of the small print of the settlement; as well as, a Particular Investigative Fee was fashioned, whose report raised no objections to its legality.
Internationally, the partnership was reviewed and authorised by competitors and overseas funding authorities in eight international locations along with Chile, with beneficial rulings from the ten regulatory our bodies that analysed the transaction, principally with out circumstances, confirming that the settlement complies with the relevant rules within the jurisdictions the place the three way partnership and its subsidiaries function and can function. Concurrently, an Indigenous session led by Corfo was performed, the favorable final result of which served as the premise for agreements with the communities.
Pacheco stated: “This mission adopted a demanding path, topic to all the necessities that Chilean establishments and worldwide regulatory frameworks present for initiatives of this magnitude. Having efficiently accomplished this course of permits us to affirm that this firm is born with stable institutional backing, full legitimacy and a transparent imaginative and prescient for the longer term.”
He added: “As we speak we’re formalising a long-term determination, designed for Chile and for future generations. The brand new firm is born with the mission of remodeling a strategic useful resource belonging to all Chileans, similar to lithium, into alternatives and improvement for the nation and a world that wants it for its vitality and digital transition. We are able to guarantee you that NovaAndino Litio will act with the utmost environmental duty, respect for the land and the communities that inhabit it, and a dedication to the sustainable improvement of our nation and the planet.”
For his half, Ramos acknowledged that “this partnership brings collectively information and operational expertise, top-level technical {and professional} groups, scale and industrial networks in a number of international locations, presence within the territory and dedication to sustainability, in addition to a shared long-term imaginative and prescient, which can permit us to contribute from Chile to the worldwide vitality transition”.
Pacheco additionally highlighted the Company’s main position on this milestone. “As now we have carried out on different events all through our historical past, the women and men who make up Codelco are honoured to be a automobile for the State to play a strategic position in an business that’s key to the well-being of Chile and the world. For me, it’s an honour to have been elected Chairman of the Board of Nova Andino Litio due to the significance of this firm for Chile and since it marks Codelco’s entry into the lithium enterprise. From at this time, Codelco is an organization that produces copper and lithium, and with this, we’re positioning Chile as a key participant within the vitality transition and the decarbonisation of the economic system,” he acknowledged.
The Partnership Settlement between Codelco and SQM was designed to maximise the general public worth of lithium, strengthen the position of the State and lift business requirements. Economically, the mannequin stipulates that the Chilean State will seize a majority share of the earnings, with an estimated 70% of the working margin related to new manufacturing between 2025 and 2030. From 2031 onward, this return is projected to succeed in as much as 85% by funds to Corfo, taxes to the Treasury and earnings for Codelco.
From an environmental perspective, the three way partnership will drive a structural change in how lithium is produced within the Atacama Salt Flat. The plan contains the incorporation of latest applied sciences and course of enhancements aimed toward growing effectivity, lowering internet brine extraction and transferring towards a water stability. This strategy seeks to minimize the stress on the salt flat’s ecosystems and deal with long-term environmental challenges.
In territorial and social issues, the settlement incorporates commitments to everlasting engagement with surrounding communities, primarily with indigenous peoples, in addition to monitoring mechanisms and contractual necessities that reinforce respect for the territory and the creation of shared worth.
With the formation of the three way partnership and the beginning of its company governance, Codelco and SQM are transferring into the implementation section, aimed toward fulfilling the financial, environmental and social commitments that underpin the settlement and consolidating Chile as a dependable provider of lithium, key to the vitality transition and sustainable improvement globally, it says.
