Latest news with #Corfo
The Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Indigenous groups seek halt to Chile lithium deal review in court
SANTIAGO: Two Indigenous groups in northern Chile have asked a local court to suspend a state-led community review process that is required for a lithium partnership between copper giant Codelco and lithium miner SQM , according to legal documents reviewed by Reuters. The Indigenous community of Coyo and the Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers of San Pedro de Atacama each independently filed legal challenges last week with a Chilean appeals court in the Antofagasta region, accusing Chilean economic development agency Corfo of not properly carrying out a consultation process to seek their input on the partnership. The process is one of the final conditions for a deal to go into effect in which state-run Codelco will take a majority stake in SQM's lithium mining operations in the Atacama salt flat. The Coyo community and the Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers, which has Indigenous members, said they needed more information and time to be able to provide informed consent on the plan. The Antofagasta court on Friday accepted their challenges, according to a court document. It ordered Corfo to respond to the allegations within 15 days, and asked Codelco and SQM to provide comments. Corfo told Reuters that the consultation process was still in progress. 'The Indigenous consultation process with the Atacama Indigenous organizations is moving forward and has been carried out in accordance with the regulations,' the agency said in a statement. Codelco declined to comment, while SQM did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The Indigenous consultation, which was led by Corfo and included a few dozen community groups located around the Atacama salt flat, was due to conclude around late July. SQM and Codelco are separately holding talks with communities near the salt flat to discuss a model for Indigenous oversight over lithium extraction. The Coyo community and Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers both asked the court to suspend the process until a new methodology for the community review could be implemented, and more information provided. Both groups said Corfo had not provided enough detail about the proposed contract between Codelco and SQM and argued that the consultation's timeline between November 2024 and July 2025 was too fast to allow for detailed analysis. They also said Corfo at several points did not act in good faith, and did not meet the standards set out by the International Labour Organization, a U.N. agency. 'This situation directly affects the fundamental rights of the Community by limiting its influence over decisions that impact its territory, environmental surroundings, and collective rights, thereby violating constitutional guarantees,' the Coyo community said in its court filing. - Reuters
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Indigenous groups ask Chile court to pause community review of Codelco-SQM lithium deal
SANTIAGO, July 15 (Reuters) - Two Indigenous groups in northern Chile have asked a local court to suspend a state-led community review process that is required for a lithium partnership between copper giant Codelco and lithium miner SQM ( opens new tab, according to legal documents reviewed by Reuters. The Indigenous community of Coyo and the Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers of San Pedro de Atacama each independently filed legal challenges last week with a Chilean appeals court in the Antofagasta region, accusing Chilean economic development agency Corfo of not properly carrying out a consultation process to seek their input on the partnership. The process is one of the final conditions for a deal to go into effect in which state-run Codelco will take a majority stake in SQM's lithium mining operations in the Atacama salt flat. The Coyo community and the Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers, which has Indigenous members, said they needed more information and time to be able to provide informed consent on the plan. The Antofagasta court on Friday accepted their challenges, according to a court document. It ordered Corfo to respond to the allegations within 15 days, and asked Codelco and SQM to provide comments. Corfo told Reuters that the consultation process was still in progress. "The Indigenous consultation process with the Atacama Indigenous organizations is moving forward and has been carried out in accordance with the regulations," the agency said in a statement. Codelco declined to comment, while SQM did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The Indigenous consultation, which was led by Corfo and included a few dozen community groups located around the Atacama salt flat, was due to conclude around late July. SQM and Codelco are separately holding talks with communities near the salt flat to discuss a model for Indigenous oversight over lithium extraction. The Coyo community and Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers both asked the court to suspend the process until a new methodology for the community review could be implemented, and more information provided. Both groups said Corfo had not provided enough detail about the proposed contract between Codelco and SQM and argued that the consultation's timeline between November 2024 and July 2025 was too fast to allow for detailed analysis. They also said Corfo at several points did not act in good faith, and did not meet the standards set out by the International Labour Organization, a U.N. agency. "This situation directly affects the fundamental rights of the Community by limiting its influence over decisions that impact its territory, environmental surroundings, and collective rights, thereby violating constitutional guarantees," the Coyo community said in its court filing.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Indigenous groups ask Chile court to pause community review of Codelco-SQM lithium deal
By Daina Beth Solomon SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Two Indigenous groups in northern Chile have asked a local court to suspend a state-led community review process that is required for a lithium partnership between copper giant Codelco and lithium miner SQM, according to legal documents reviewed by Reuters. The Indigenous community of Coyo and the Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers of San Pedro de Atacama each independently filed legal challenges last week with a Chilean appeals court in the Antofagasta region, accusing Chilean economic development agency Corfo of not properly carrying out a consultation process to seek their input on the partnership. The process is one of the final conditions for a deal to go into effect in which state-run Codelco will take a majority stake in SQM's lithium mining operations in the Atacama salt flat. The Coyo community and the Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers, which has Indigenous members, said they needed more information and time to be able to provide informed consent on the plan. The Antofagasta court on Friday accepted their challenges, according to a court document. It ordered Corfo to respond to the allegations within 15 days, and asked Codelco and SQM to provide comments. Corfo told Reuters that the consultation process was still in progress. "The Indigenous consultation process with the Atacama Indigenous organizations is moving forward and has been carried out in accordance with the regulations," the agency said in a statement. Codelco declined to comment, while SQM did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The Indigenous consultation, which was led by Corfo and included a few dozen community groups located around the Atacama salt flat, was due to conclude around late July. SQM and Codelco are separately holding talks with communities near the salt flat to discuss a model for Indigenous oversight over lithium extraction. The Coyo community and Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers both asked the court to suspend the process until a new methodology for the community review could be implemented, and more information provided. Both groups said Corfo had not provided enough detail about the proposed contract between Codelco and SQM and argued that the consultation's timeline between November 2024 and July 2025 was too fast to allow for detailed analysis. They also said Corfo at several points did not act in good faith, and did not meet the standards set out by the International Labour Organization, a U.N. agency. "This situation directly affects the fundamental rights of the Community by limiting its influence over decisions that impact its territory, environmental surroundings, and collective rights, thereby violating constitutional guarantees," the Coyo community said in its court filing.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
China's BYD, Tsingshan scrap plans for Chile lithium plants
Chinese automaker BYD and metals group Tsingshan are backing out of multi-million dollar plans to build lithium cathode plants in Chile, the country's economic development agency said on Wednesday. The retreat by the two huge Chinese companies is a blow to Chile's aim to develop more domestic processing of lithium, a key metal for electric vehicle batteries . Chile is the world's no. 2 lithium producer. Both projects were hit by plunging lithium prices, said government economic development agency Corfo , which in 2023 had tapped BYD and Tsingshan for a preferential lithium price deal as part of its efforts to spur investment in Chile. "The companies selected by Corfo have been affected in their investment decisions by the global market conditions, which have shown a sharp drop in prices," Corfo said in a statement. Tsingshan told Reuters it has withdrawn plans for a $233 million project to produce 120,000 metric tons of lithium iron phosphate (LFP). Chile's national assets ministry told Reuters that BYD filed an intent to withdraw its plans in January. BYD, the world's biggest maker of electric cars, declined to comment. BYD last year flagged delays to a planned $290 million plant, which was expected to produce 50,000 metric tons per year of LFP for cathodes. Chilean newspaper Diario Financiero first reported the scrapped investments. Chile's effort in 2018 to encourage lithium-related investments via a pricing deal also fell apart. Chilean chemical company Molymet, China's Sichuan Fulin Transportation Group Co , and a joint venture between Korean firms Posco and Samsung for various reasons withdrew their plans. Tsingshan and BYD would have had access to preferential prices of lithium produced by Chilean miner SQM through 2030, a timeframe that Corfo said also may have influenced the withdrawal of the projects. In addition, Corfo said Tsingshan had wanted to assign the project development to a unit of the company that had not participated in the bidding process, which Corfo said was not possible. Corfo last week opened a second bidding process for a similar scheme, this time to provide a purchasing deal with U.S. lithium producer Albemarle through 2043 for companies that commit to lithium-related projects. Albemarle and the selected investors will be able to use an "alternative form" to determine a price agreement, Corfo said.
TimesLIVE
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
BYD and Tsingshan scrap plans for Chile lithium plants
Chinese carmaker BYD and metals group Tsingshan are backing out of multimillion-dollar plans to build lithium cathode plants in Chile, the country's economic development agency said on Wednesday. The retreat by the two huge Chinese companies is a blow to Chile's aim to develop more domestic processing of lithium, a key metal for electric vehicle batteries. Chile is the world's No. 2 lithium producer. Both projects were hit by plunging lithium prices, said government economic development agency Corfo, which in 2023 had tapped BYD and Tsingshan for a preferential lithium price deal as part of its efforts to spur investment in Chile. 'The companies selected by Corfo have been affected in their investment decisions by the global market conditions, which have shown a sharp drop in prices,' Corfo said. Tsingshan told Reuters it has withdrawn plans for a $233m (R4.25bn) project to produce 120,000 metric tons of lithium iron phosphate (LFP). Chile's national assets ministry told Reuters that BYD filed an intent to withdraw its plans in January. BYD, the world's biggest maker of electric cars, declined to comment. BYD last year flagged delays to a planned $290m (R5.3bn) plant, which was expected to produce 50,000 tonnes per year of LFP for cathodes. Chilean newspaper Diario Financiero first reported the scrapped investments. Chile's effort in 2018 to encourage lithium-related investments via a pricing deal also fell apart. Chilean chemical company Molymet, China's Sichuan Fulin Transportation Group, and a joint venture between Korean firms Posco and Samsung for various reasons withdrew their plans. Tsingshan and BYD would have had access to preferential prices of lithium produced by Chilean miner SQM through 2030, a time frame that Corfo said also may have influenced the withdrawal of the projects. In addition, Corfo said Tsingshan had wanted to assign the project development to a unit of the company that had not participated in the bidding process, which Corfo said was not possible. Corfo last week opened a second bidding process for a similar scheme, this time to provide a purchasing deal with US lithium producer Albemarle through 2043 for companies that commit to lithium-related projects. Albemarle and the selected investors will be able to use an 'alternative form' to determine a price agreement, Corfo said.
