Chile and France signed two memoranda of understanding this Thursday to promote research projects for the “sustainable” exploitation of copper and lithium.Agreements in which French companies and research centers meet with Chilean public actors.
“Today we have finalized two agreements between French companies and the French government cochilco and enami, which will contribute resources. In the case of Enami, we are going to work with green hydrogen as a source of energy for small miners in Chile, and in the case of Cochilco, we are going to do a study regarding the value chains that are possible to implement. Is. our country in lithium content,” said Chile’s Minister of Mines Marcela Hernando,
“this is done very useful exchangeSeveral French companies are interested and, as they announced in our meeting, they want to come to our region to settle and add value to Chilean minerals and metals,” he said.
The meeting was organized by Hernando Foreign trade, attractiveness and representative of the French Foreign Minister, Olivier BechtWith whom he established the first dialogue on strategic minerals and metals in our country.
#MineríaSostenible | Ministra 🇨🇱@MarcelaHernando y Ministro delegado de Comercio Exterior 🇫🇷 @Becht_Olivier presidieron la firma de dos memorándum para la realización de proyectos público-privados, en sectores de cobre y litio, potenciando la transición energética⚡️#LitioporChile pic.twitter.com/jwAMdgEEBv
— Ministerio de Minería de Chile (@MinMineria_cl) June 8, 2023
The French Authority, for its part, is visiting the region with a delegation made up of research operators (CEA and BRGM) and French companies (Aramet, Geolith, Blue Solutions, Stellantis, Nexan, Viridian Lithium).
,We have come here not only looking for business opportunities for Lithium and thus, making batteries and energy transition in Europe. We would like to do this first in the framework of a common prosperity in Chile and France Along value chains that will produce added value here in Chile and for Chileans,” said the French minister.
They said they would also seek “research-based innovation for a development that would allow mining extraction to protect the environment with social responsibility” and “even more respect local communities, such as indigenous peoples, equally”. goes.”
He The “Lithium Triangle” brings together about 50 million metric tons of this mineral, According to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the largest reserves (exploitable lithium fraction) are in Chile (9.2 million).
The three countries that make up the region have exploited the resource with varying yields: Argentina has expanded its portfolio of projects, Bolivia seeks to attract foreign investment with state control and Chilly This has so far kept it in the hands of two large private companies (the Chilean SQM and the American Albertmarle).
In 2022, the Chilean state received more than 5,000 million dollars for the exploitation of this mineralAccording to the Autonomous Fiscal Council (CFA), equal to 1.6% of GDP.
Chile is the second world producer of lithium after Australia, but Argentina could gain the position and overtake it in the coming years.
Lithium carbonate sales to $7,763 million overseas in 2022, an increase of 777% over 2021 According to the Central Bank. With this performance, lithium carbonate has overtaken salmon, iron and cherry in Chile’s export basket.
