DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Chile's lithium takeover plan faces technical, political challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Fabian Cambero | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/3] A view of a brine pool of a lithium mine on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert, Chile, August 16, 2018. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File PhotoSANTIAGO, April 28 (Reuters) - While Chile's plan to take control of its lithium industry has caused global shockwaves, state-led production of the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries is seen by analysts as likely years away given technical and political challenges. CODELCO'S ROLEChile's state-run Codelco, the largest copper producer in the world, plays a key role in Boric's lithium plan although it has no experience in producing the white metal. The report noted that Argentina currently has more lithium projects in the pipeline than any other country in the world. Albemarle has said it needs new water sources to expand in Chile's Atacama salt flat, noting a desalination project was awaiting permits and construction.

☆ Chile's lithium push emerges as test for Latin American resource nationalism
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( David Alire Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] Laborers work at a lithium plant on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert of northern Chile January 8, 2013. While the former student protest leader's proposal to give the government a majority stake in all future lithium projects faces an uncertain path in Congress, its mere introduction shook one of the mining industry's most lucrative corners. Lithium is in high demand for rechargeable batteries for future fleets of electric vehicles in the global transition to green energy. That leaves the exception to the trend, Argentina, as an increasingly likely Latin American destination for new private capital for lithium. A strong pipeline of lithium projects in Argentina, the world's No.

TOKYO, April 27 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Toyota Tsusho Corp (8015.T) is concerned that there may be more moves by countries like Chile to restrict exports of raw minerals such as lithium, its chief financial officer said on Thursday. "Like what happened in Chile, there could be more cases of restrictions on export of raw materials due to growing nationalism in emerging countries," CFO Hideyuki Iwamoto told a news conference. Toyota Tsusho, together with Australian miner Orocobre, began production of lithium carbonate at a mine on the Olaroz salt flat in Argentina in 2014, and decided to expand the production capacity in 2018. Battery grade lithium prices touched record levels of $85,000 a tonne in December, but have slumped by nearly 50% since then. "Compared to the previous year, the lithium prices have halved, but the stock prices of lithium-producing companies have not fallen, so we expect the lithium prices to rise slightly from the current level in the medium to long term," Iwamoto said.

The country nationalised its copper sector in 1971, provoking international outrage, particularly in the United States. President Gabriel Boric's lithium "nationalisation" is a more benign version, using an even earlier copper model. THE COPPER MODEL - GOOD AND BADIf President Boric's lithium policy is an echo of past copper policy, the comparison is with the "Chileanisation" programme of the Eduardo Frei Montalva administration in the late 1960s. Even the neo-liberals of the Augusto Pinochet regime kept the national jewel in the crown as they opened the rest of the country's' copper sector up to the private sector. It is now Codelco that is tasked with taking control of the country's lithium sector.

☆ Chile, US miner Albemarle hold talks on lithium nationalization plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Lithium evaporation ponds are seen at Albemarle Lithium production facility in Silver Peak, Nevada, U.S. October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaSANTIAGO, April 25 (Reuters) - Chile's state development office Corfo said on Tuesday it met with U.S.-based miner Albemarle (ALB.N) to discuss the South American country's plan to nationalize the lithium industry. Chile's leftist President Gabriel Boric last week announced that control of the country's vast lithium operations would over time be transferred from Albemarle and SQM (SQMA.SN) to a separate state-owned company. Chile has the world's largest lithium reserves. He added that Albemarle, the world's largest producer of lithium, wants to grow in Chile and in the Atacama salt flat with new technologies.

Listed miners with lithium projects in South America suffered, however, on concerns other governments may follow Chile's lead. Elsewhere in Asia, lithium prices stabilised on an improved demand outlook, and Japan acted to shore up its EV minerals supply by announcing a swathe of industry subsidies. Bucking the regional trend were Australian-listed miners with projects in South America's lithium triangle which spans Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, on concerns other governments may follow Chile's footsteps. Shares in miners with Argentine projects fell. Lithium Power International, (LPI.AX) whose Maricunga brine project is Chile's largest permitted, proposed project welcomed the new policy which it said would "positively transform" Chile's lithium industry.

Many DLE technologies use lots of potable water and electricity. SQM (SQMA.SN) and Albemarle Corp (ALB.N), Chile's two existing lithium producers, use evaporation ponds to produce the metal. Livent Corp (LTHM.N) uses a variation of DLE technology in Argentina alongside evaporation ponds. Lake Resources is working with Bill Gates-backed Lilac Solutions Inc to deploy Lilac's DLE technology in Argentina. In Chile, DLE companies see a business opportunity despite the nationalization plans given that Boric's new state lithium company is expected to need technical support.

☆ Chile’s plan for state control in lithium dismays business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A lithium mining machine moves a salt by-product at the mine in the Atacama Desert in Salar de Atacama, Chile on October 25, 2022. Under the plan, all companies wanting to work in Chile's lithium sector will have to take on the yet-to-be created National Lithium Company as a partner and the "state will have control," Boric said Thursday. But Chile's business sector expressed concern. Mewes said business leaders had expected there would be a "great private sector participation" in the lithium sector and now the "state will be the one that will control" the industry. She worries about what message this sends to others in the region that are trying to build up nascent industries, considering Mexico already nationalized its lithium sector.

SQM's lithium contract in Chile is set to expire in 2030 and Albemarle's in 2043, giving it more insulation from the potential move. Mexico nationalized its lithium deposits last year, and Indonesia banned exports of nickel ore, a key battery material, in 2020. SQM has a larger footprint in Chile, with 81,000 hectares (about 200,000 acres) for lithium extraction compared with Albemarle's 16,000 hectares. Argentine state energy firm YPF last year began exploring lithium, while Bolivia has long maintained strict control over its huge though largely untapped resources. Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Bolivia's Luis Arce have touted the idea of a regional lithium "OPEC" to coordinate on lithium policy and benefit local economies.

☆ Factbox: World's biggest lithium producers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Carman Chew | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Chile holds the world's largest lithium reserves and is the world's second-largest producer. Australia is the world's biggest supplier, with production from hard rock mines. Rapid growth is forecast to be met by output gains in Australia, Chile and Argentina. WORLD'S BIGGEST MINESGreenbushes, Western Australia, by Talison Lithium (a joint venture of Tianqi Lithium (002466.SZ), IGO (IGO.AX) and Albemarle Corp (ALB.N)). Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes lithium salt lake, Argentina, bought by Ganfeng Lithium (002460.SZ), will produce 30,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate starting 2024, and can potentially be expanded to 50,000 tonnes.

The move would see Chile, the world's second largest lithium producer, shift to a model with the state holding a controlling interest in all new lithium projects through a public company that would partner with private mining firms. Mexico nationalized its lithium deposits last year, and Indonesia banned exports of nickel ore, a key battery material, in 2020. In early trading on Friday, Chilean firm SQM's U.S.-listed shares slid 6.2%, while Albemarle was down 2.5%. SQM's lithium contract in Chile is set to expire in 2030 and Albemarle's in 2043, giving it more insulation from the potential move. Mining shares in London fell sharply too.

☆ Futures flat on mixed earnings, Fed policy uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Futures off: Dow 0.02%, S&P 0.02%, Nasdaq 0.01%April 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday as investors digested a mixed bag of earnings reports, while awaiting more data for clues on the outlook for interest rates and the economy. Investors will focus on S&P Global's flash purchasing managers' indexes (PMI) at 9:45 a.m. Meanwhile, a slate of Fed speakers this week supported the view of another 25 basis point rate hike by the U.S. central bank when it meets next week. ET, Dow e-minis were down 8 points, or 0.02%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 0.75 points, or 0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 1.5 points, or 0.01%. Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"Investors are okay with earnings so far because the lack of bad news is good news," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments. "The market is waiting to see if we can get some bullish earnings over the next few weeks from some of the big cap tech stocks." A slate of Fed speakers this week voiced support for another 25-basis-point rate hike by the U.S. central bank when it meets next week. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.42-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.30-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 18 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 27 new highs and 78 new lows.

☆ Factbox: Chile lithium move latest in global resource nationalism trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Matthew Chye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Chile's President Gabriel Boric announced on Thursday he would nationalise the country's vast lithium industry to boost the economy and protect the environment. Chile is the world's second largest producer of lithium, a key component in batteries used in electric vehicles. Myanmar accounted for 77% of China's tin ore imports last year, Chinese customs data showed. INDONESIA* A resource powerhouse, Indonesia is tightening controls over various materials in a push to develop local downstream operations and extract greater value. More export bans will also be announced in the coming years in order to develop resource processing industry onshore, he said, speaking at an economic forum.

☆ China EV maker BYD to build $290 mln battery component plant in Chile
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, April 21 (Reuters) - China's BYD Co Ltd (002594.SZ), , the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) maker, plans to build a $290 million lithium cathode factory in Chile's northern Antofagasta region, said Chilean economic development agency CORFO. The South American country's government has named BYD Chile a qualified lithium producer, CORFO said, giving it access to preferential prices for lithium carbonate quotas. BYD, which supplies electric buses for Chile's public transportation system, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday. The plant will produce 50,000 tonnes per year of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) for cathodes, using lithium carbonate as an input. read moreReporting by Farah Master in Hong Kong and Zhang Yan in Shanghai; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The shock move in the country with the world's largest lithium reserves would in time transfer control of Chile's vast lithium operations from industry giants SQM (SQMA.SN) and Albemarle (ALB.N) to a separate state-owned company. "Nevertheless, projects with strategic values for the country, this partnership has to have a majority participation of the state," Boric said. The president added that there will be a division dedicated to advancing technology to minimize environmental impacts, including favoring direct lithium extraction over evaporation ponds. Privately held Summit Nanotech Corp, which is developing direct lithium extraction technology and recently opened a Santiago office, welcomed Boric's announcement. Boric said the country would look to protect biodiversity and share mining benefits with indigenous and surrounding communities as lithium extraction evolves.

☆ Chile approves bill cutting work week to 40 hours from 45
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/7] Chile's Labor Minister Jeannette Jara celebrates next to others ministers and parliamentarians the approval of a bill reducing the number of weekly working hours from 45 to 40, in congress in Valparaiso, Chile, April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Rodrigo GarridoSANTIAGO, April 11 (Reuters) - Chile's Congress on Tuesday passed a hard-fought bill to gradually cut the work week to 45 hours from 40 hours, a legislative victory for President Gabriel Boric amid faltering popularity. But the work week law - which now awaits Boric's signature - constitutes a small victory for an administration that has been trying to shift the country away from its free-market constitution. The new law mandates one less hour a week of work per year until the work week reaches 40 hours, bringing Chile in line with most industrialized nations. Several companies in Chile have already announced that they will adopt the bill, including state-owned copper giant Codelco, which earlier this year said it would seek to implement the 40- -hour work week by 2026.

☆ Chile enacts laws, allots $1.5 bln to fight crime amid police killings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SANTIAGO, April 6 (Reuters) - Chile on Thursday signed new laws and allocated $1.5 billion to fight crime amid skyrocketing perceptions of insecurity and a day after the third police officer in less than a month was killed on duty. Boric announced $1.5 billion in added security spending and signed off on four new laws that the government says will help fight organized crime, drug trafficking and crime. Chile's police force has faced human rights abuse accusations following a heavy-handed crackdown of the violent 2019 protests against inequality. Polls show voters largely disapprove of the government's handling of crime and Boric has since hardened his stance. Palma is the third police officer to be killed on duty in less than a month, sparking public backlash.

☆ Inflation, migration in focus at regional Ibero-American summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Paul Mathiasen And Jesus Frias | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Honduras President Xiomara Castro attends at the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, March 25, 2023. Dominican Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via REUTERSSANTO DOMINGO, March 25 (Reuters) - Leaders attending the Ibero-American Summit meeting in the Dominican Republic on Saturday highlighted rising inflation and migration as risks to the stability of the region. "Today migration management constitutes one of the great regional challenges," said Chilean President Gabriel Boric. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, meanwhile, canceled his attendance at the Ibero-American summit after receiving a positive COVID-19 test result, though he has since tested negative twice, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said. Reporting by Paul Mathiasen and Jesus Frias in Santo Domingo and Marco Aquino in Lima Writing by Cassandra Garrison Editing by Matthew Lewis and Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chile announces biological corridor to protect endangered deer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Rewilding Fundation Chile/Handout via REUTERSSANTIAGO, March 6 (Reuters) - Chile launched a program on Monday to protect the huemul, an endangered southern deer, by creating a biological corridor that includes an area recently donated by the family of the late philanthropist and founder of the North Face, Douglas Tompkins. The Rewilding Chile Foundation, Tompkins' legacy, along with Chile's Ministry of Agriculture, said that the "Huemul National Corridor" will be made up of approximately 16 connected, state-protected areas alongside other private conservation initiatives. Last week, Kristine Tompkins, co-founder and president of Rewilding Chile, met with President Gabriel Boric to donate 93,492 hectares (231,024 acres) for the creation of a new national park in the Magallanes region. The huemul is one of two species of native deer found only in the Patagonian forests of Argentina and Chile. Despite being originally found in areas in central Chile, the huemul can now be seen mainly in the southernmost regions of Aysen and Magallanes.

☆ Chilean wildfires destroy hundreds of homes, endanger world's smallest deer
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Ivan Alvarado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We call on everyone who can to take care of the forests which are currently on fire, and also of our animals, specimens of vital importance," said Valentina Aravena, the manager at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Chillan. Late on Wednesday, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said the government would declare a curfew in some provinces starting on Thursday. In the rehabilitation center in Chillan, the capital of the Ñuble region, veterinarians treated burns on animals native to the woodlands, such as monito del monte, a small nocturnal marsupial, and pudus, the world's smallest deer. [1/7] A Pudu, the world's smallest deer, rescued from a wildfire, receives care from vets at a wildlife rehabilitation center of Concepcion University, as wildfires continue in the central-southern zone of Chile, in Chillan, Chile, February 8, 2023. A day earlier, a Chilean minister warned that high temperatures forecast for this week could further complicate the situation.

☆ Chile battles deadliest wildfires on record as heatwave grips
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Fabian Cambero | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Trees can be seen after a wildfire burned areas in Santa Juana, near Concepcion, Chile, February 5, 2023. REUTERS/Juan GonzalezSANTIAGO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Chilean firefighters were battling to hold back forest fires on Monday as authorities said hot and dry weather would continue this week, potentially exacerbating what are already the deadliest blazes in the country's recent history. The state National Forestry Corporation reported that as of Monday morning there were 275 active fires, of which 69 were currently in combat. The heat wave and strong winds have caused a rapid spread of the flames during the Southern Hemisphere summer season. Reuters GraphicsReporting by Fabian Andres Cambero; Editing by Caitlin WebberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ At least 24 dead in Chile as wildfires expand; foreign help on the way
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Fabian Cambero | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

International help was set to arrive on Sunday from a handful of countries that have pledged resources, including planes and expert firefighting teams, as the most intense wildfires torched forests and farmland clustered around three regions near the middle of the South American country's long Pacific coastline. The government of President Gabriel Boric has issued emergency declarations for the largely rural southern regions of Biobio, Nuble and Araucania in an effort to speed relief. The fires have consumed some 270,000 hectares, officials said on Sunday, or an area roughly the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Some 260 fires are active across the parched region, interior ministry officials said on Sunday, with 28 of them considered especially dangerous. Chilean officials have sought international assistance to battle the fires, with new ones sparking to life each day.

☆ Thirteen dead as fires blaze through south-central Chile
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Eleven people, including a firefighter, had died in the town of Santa Juana in Biobio, a region some 310 miles (500 km) south of capital Santiago, local authorities said. The Minister of Agriculture also reported an emergency-support helicopter in the southern region of La Araucania had crashed, killing the pilot and a mechanic. States of catastrophe have been declared in the farming and forest areas of Biobio and neighboring Nuble, prompting the deployment of soldiers and additional resources. Hundreds of homes have been damaged while 39 fires rage across the country, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said. He also pointed to "signs" that some fires may have been started intentionally.

☆ Scholz seeks to secure more critical minerals on South America tour
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Sarah Marsh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sebastian Rodriguez/Chilean Presidency/Handout via REUTERSSANTIAGO DE CHILE, Jan 29 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a new, expanded commodities partnership with Chile on Sunday during a tour of South America that Berlin hopes will help secure more access to critical minerals key to the transition to a green economy. That has led to a reliance on China, which has invested widely in the mining sector in resource-rich South America and in processing commodities. Argentina and Chile sit atop South America's "lithium triangle" which holds the world's largest trove of the ultra-light battery metal. "We want to help Chile on the way to a sustainable mining sector," Scholz said in a news conference with his Chilean counterpart in Santiago de Chile on the second leg of his tour. Germany also wanted to ensure mining generated more jobs in the source countries, Scholz said.

Search resuls for: "GABRIEL BORIC"

25 mentions found