Tuesday, April 25, 2023.- Corfo and Albemarle held a constructive working meeting within the framework of the talks on the National Lithium Strategy presented last week by President Gabriel Boric.
José Miguel Benavente, executive vice president of Corfo, explained in detail the main points of the strategy to Ignacio Mehech, vice president of external affairs and country manager of Albemarle Chile, in which Corfo reiterated respect for the current contract, leaving any other conversation about State participation for a date closer to the end of the contract.
Ignacio Mehech stated that "we are and will continue to be partners of the State of Chile through Corfo. Legal certainty is a value that has allowed Chile to develop and develop mining activity, so the President's declaration of unrestricted respect for our contract until 2043 is an unequivocal signal to the market that allows us to enhance the commitment we have with Chile."
The executive added that "we thank Corfo for reaffirming that commitment. We want and can grow in the country with new extraction technologies and in the Salar de Atacama. The new era of lithium is in total harmony with the lithium strategy that the government has outlined, we are taking concrete steps towards evolving towards direct extraction systems, which must be studied with great responsibility, they are very intensive in the use of energy, so we have connected to the national electricity system, and very intensive in the use of water."
A few months ago, Albemarle presented its proposal for the development of the New Era of Lithium, where access to new water sources is essential. "Our water consumption compared to other actors in the Salar de Atacama basin is minimal. However, we have a commitment to being part of the solution. That is why we signed an agreement with the company CRAMSA to provide us with desalinated water from the sea, of up to 500 l/s, starting in 2027 (pending permits and construction), which allows us to analyze the implementation of direct lithium extraction methods at our Salar de Atacama plant. This agreement not only benefits Albemarle, it also opens the option of the arrival of desalinated seawater to the Salar de Atacama basin as more actors support and join this initiative," says the company.
Ignacio Mehech stressed that "with Corfo we will continue to talk to continue contributing to the country with dialogue, innovation, sustainability and generation of social value. At Albemarle we have promoted long-term relationships being pioneers in the development of the lithium industry in Chile and we are focused on continuing to grow in a sustainable way."