The Maricunga project, located within the so-called lithium triangle in northern Chile, is estimated to contain about 1.9 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).
The transaction, which now only needs the Federal Court of Australia’s backing, is expected to conclude on Feb. 23, Codelco said.
Chairman Máximo Pacheco expressed enthusiasm about the purchase, stating, “With this purchase, Codelco moves forward with its mandate of becoming leaders in the production of critical minerals for the energy transition.”
Chile gave the copper giant a key role in the new public-private model for the sector, announced in April last year, which calls for public-private partnerships for future lithium projects.
The seamless nature of this deal contrasts with a recent string of failed Australian lithium juniors acquisitions. Local mining billionaires gatecrashed a series of deals in the latter half of 2023, including Albemarle’s (NYSE: ALB) A$6.6 billion attempt to buy Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) and SQM’s bid for Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS).
Chile is already the world’s no. 2 producer of lithium after Australia and holds the world’s largest known deposits of the coveted battery metal.
Codelco entered in late December the first lithium business tie-up with SQM for the future development and production of the metal in the Atacama salt flat, the only area where lithium is currently extracted in Chile.
