LatinNews Daily - 25 April 2025

*Chile’s national competition authority (FNE) has approved the association agreement signed between Chile’s state-owned copper giant Codelco and the private Chilean company Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (SQM), the world’s second largest lithium producer, to develop lithium in the Atacama salt flats, subject to compliance with mitigation measures. The agreement, which was announced in December 2023 and signed in May 2024, provides for a joint venture that comprises Codelco through its subsidiary Minera Tarar and SQM through SQM Salar, with the Chilean state holding the majority share (50% plus one share), to develop lithium in the north of Chile from 2025 to 2060. In its statement, the FNE says that the operation could “substantially reduce competition, given that it would imply the creation of a new structural link between current and future players in the lithium industry in the medium to long term, which could increase the risks of coordination and access to commercially sensitive information among competitors”. The FNE has proposed a series of mitigating measures to address these risks and restrict the possible flow of sensitive commercial information, which include periodic reporting commitments and a ban on employees holding positions in two or more competing companies. Codelco celebrated the decision in a statement, saying the FNE’s approval added to that given by competition authorities in Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the European Union. “We are very satisfied with this resolution, because it confirms that the partnership is moving forward as planned,” said Codelco’s president, Máximo Pacheco. Codelco notes that China’s competition authority has yet to announce its decision regarding the agreement, while authorisation from Chile’s nuclear energy regulator (CCHEN) and the indigenous consultation led by the state economic development agency (Corfo) is also pending.

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