Chile’s lithium policy of sustainability gives it the edge – mining minister

• Autores: Martim Facada
• Localización: Industrial Minerals, ISSN 0019-8544, Nº. 598, 2017 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Diciembre/Enero)
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Chilean mining minister Aurora Williams has told Industrial Minerals that production of lithium added-value products (such as cathodes, battery components and lithium salts), sustainable governance of the country’s salt flats known as the Salars, and research and innovation are the main components of the country’s lithium policy.Economic development is possible if it is done in a sustainable way, Williams told Industrial Minerals in an interview, emphasizing that Chilean President Michelle Bachelete and her cabinet have been working on the country’s current lithium policy since before coming into power in 2014. [...]high lithium prices are more of a “bonus” than a determining factor for the implementation of this policy, Williams told Industrial Minerals, adding that the planning and creation of the policy predates the rise in prices at the end of 2015. Since mid-2015, Chinese domestic lithium carbonate 99.5% battery grade spot prices have increased rapidly to $24.19-26.15 per kg, according to IM’s October 26 market assessment, from an average price of $7.66 per kg in June 2015. [...]a main goal of the lithium policy is investment in research and innovation to promote the generation of shared added-value that includes the Salars communities and is sustainable, Williams said.Ultimately, the government hopes to re-industrialize the lithium industry in a sustainable way, according to Eduardo Bitran, the executive vice president of the Chilean Economic Development Agency (Corfo), as Industrial Minerals reported in May.