SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile's Finance Minister Mario Marcel said on Saturday the country wants to have three or four new lithium projects online by 2026.
The South American country, the world's largest copper producer and second-largest lithium producer, launched a policy last year to strengthen state control of the strategic metal needed for electric vehicle batteries.
Marcel spoke after meeting with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who is on a tour of the country.
Yellen visited Albemarle, a U.S. lithium producer in northern Chile, on Saturday and said expanding U.S.-Chile ties would benefit both countries, improve energy security and help meet key climate goals. .
There are currently only two lithium producers in Chile, Albemarle and SQM, but investors are still waiting for President Gabriel Boric's leftist government to develop a national lithium strategy that will explore public-private partnerships to develop lithium salt fields. .
Earlier this week, Chile's mining minister said the government hopes to complete a lithium exploration tender for private companies in the first quarter of this year.
Chile's state-run copper mining company Codelco has been chosen to represent the state of Chile in a new public-private model for lithium, as Borrick seeks to expand the long-stalled industry.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Writing by Lucinda Elliott; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
