China approves Chile lithium alliance

SANTIAGO: China has given the green light to a major partnership between Chile’s state-owned copper giant, Codelco, and lithium company SQM, unlocking plans to ramp up extraction in the Atacama salt flat — one of the world’s top lithium sites.

Chile holds about 40 percent of the world’s lithium reserves and is the second-largest producer of the metal, a key product for electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies.

Set to run through 2060, the partnership aims to restore Chile’s leadership in lithium production, a title it lost to Australia nearly a decade ago.