Lithium in Chile: A Long and Complicated Journey

Abstract The world’s primary lithium brine source, located in Chile’s Atacama Salt Flat, is controlled by the Chilean economic development agency CORFO. In Chile, the distinctive status of lithium as a non-concessional mineral, i.e., one that can only be managed by state-owned entities, has created opportunities to establish special regulatory conditions for it. One such opportunity is to propose policies that seek downstream diversification, a historically cherished ambition in a mining country like Chile. This endeavor is strengthened by the intensive use of lithium in the energy transition. Due to lithium’s role in energy storage, lithium demand is expected to increase in the near future more than demand for any other critical minerals globally. This paper analyzes Chile’s efforts to develop the lithium industry, particularly downstream, through the national lithium strategy and, via CORFO, through preferential access mechanisms to lithium for companies manufacturing lithium batteries or battery components.