LPI - The Next Lithium Producer in Chile, page-3170

The speech started but went to break but they say more is coming.Here is my translation that I got so far. More of the speech should be coming I think.
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The fundamental aspect of this car consists of building and leading the way to face the great challenges and opportunities that we have as a country, and that is precisely what the National Lithium Strategy that I am here to present to you today is about. Chile has one of the largest lithium reserves in the world, a mineral that Being in the energy storage batteries of electric cars and buses, it is key in the fight against the climate crisis and an opportunity for economic growth that is unlikely to be repeated in the short term together with the development of green hydrogen and the knowledge that is generated in our university and communities is the best chance we have to move towards a sustainable and developed economy, right?

We see ourselves having the luxury of not taking advantage of it in Chile today, lithium is only extracted from the Atacama and even so the production of our country represents more than 30% of the global market, the potential we have is enormous, in addition to the Salar de Atacama there are more than 60 salt flats and some exits this policy will therefore also be a crusade to explore them evaluate their extractive potential and very important also delimit the protected areas and lagoons where work will not be installed these salt flats and lagoons are not just lithium they are people they are communities they are the desert water, are biotechnologies and other minerals are the house of cultures, millenary and that are witnesses of the past that today we will preserve for a better future our development strategy must therefore be built responding to the climate crisis and therefore guaranteeing the least environmental impact possible in these ecosystems, from the State we will make a profound difference in the human and technological development of the country, if we do it well and compatriots I have no doubt that we can do it well our challenge is for our country to become the main producer of lithium in the world, thus increasing its wealth and development, distributing wages fairly while protecting biodiversity, I want to highlight 5 fundamental elements of the National Lithium Strategy that will allow us to achieve these and other objectives in the first place The State will participate in the entire production cycle of this mineral, creating a national lithium company for this purpose. Secondly, the exploration, exploitation and value addition effort will be based on the principle of virtuous public-private collaboration. Thirdly, we will advance towards the use of new lithium extraction technologies that minimize the impact on the ecosystems of the salt flats, in turn we will promote research into wages to find out how to take better care of them, for this we will establish a wage protection network, thus fulfilling the commitment of 30% of ecosystems protected by 2030 fourth, all this development will be with the participation and involvement of the communities surrounding the mining operations, understanding the concern that this news could generate in the communities, I want to commit them that the first and all of this process will begin with a direct conversation between the council of atacameño towns and myself our own history has taught us that there is no development possible without the community and fifthly we are going to promote not only the extraction not only the preservation but also the generation of lithium products with added value.

For diversity compatriots when in this same place 56 years ago President Eduardo Freín Montalba promoted the Chileanization of copper, he did so with the firm conviction that this mineral would be the main beam of the Chilean economy years later in 1971 this idea also accompanied and inspired the President Salvador Allende, who at the time of nationalizing large-scale copper mining with the unanimous support of Congress called it Chile's salary, I hope that today with that height of vision we will also be able to count on that transversality so that the State becomes actively involved in the entire lithium cycle in the second half of this year, after the dialogue that we will hold with the different communities that live with the salt flats, we will send to the Congress of the Republic the bill that creates the national lithium company, which will seek partners for development value-added projects and this implies an additional effort to not only extract raw material but convert it into new products of high technological value. We can do it in Chile in this area, we hope to have the participation and leadership of the Atacama regional governments in particular deserves special attention in our strategy and in this sense here in Chile and in the world we know that we are a serious and reliable country, we have respected and will continue to respect current contracts and we know that the private lease of a An important part of the Atacama room, if we decided to do nothing, this would simply continue like this. For this reason, I have instructed Golfo, the institution that manages our lithium reserves, to in turn mandate Acudelco to search for the best ways to achieve, from now on, the participation of the Chilean State in the extraction of lithium in the salary so Codelco will be our representative before the companies that are currently in the salt flat to have a participation of the State before the expiration of the current contracts in this regard two brief considerations in the first place in case of forming a public company The private company that exploits lithium in the Atacama room will be controlled by the State through codelismo. Secondly, the State of Chile will fully respect the provisions of the current contracts, that is, an anticipated participation of the State in the Atacama salt flat will be the result of a In agreement with those who currently have the rights to exploit lithium, in addition to this, exploration and exploitation contracts will be granted in those salt flats where there are currently projects that are in different stages of development. These companies will be able to decide if it is convenient or not to associate in these specific projects. with other private ones for the rest of the salt flats that have been considered susceptible to exploitation, a transparent and informed public bidding process will begin with private parties for exploration contracts added to the prospecting that we will carry out from the same state in the event that the results of the exploration shows potential, the private sector will have a preferential option to request an exploitation contract in association with a State company such as the National Book Company, it should be said that for projects of strategic value for the country, this association must have a majority State participation

It will provide a space for the different interested national and international actors to enter the industry, strongly promoting virtuous public-private articulation. We know that wages are unique and highly biodiverse complex ecosystems and are suffering significant degradation globally, like our homeland, for this reason. This strategy contemplates the creation of a network of protected salary systems in line with the international obligations committed by Chile in the Biodiversity Framework Convention. At the same time, the salaries that are exploited will require the implementation of technologies that minimize the environmental impact in lithium recovery, such as direct extraction with reinjection of brine, with Science and Technology on our side as a tool, we will be able to develop the best extraction techniques, we will add value to the mineral and we will also guarantee exploitation processes in accordance with the more altars standards of care the exploitation of lithium evolves together with the biodiversity of the communities, for this reason we will create the Technological Institute and public investigation of crime and wages, which will combine efforts in the field of technological development with research capacities in ecology, geology and social sciences on the salt flats, their biodiversity and the communities that live around them, this strategy should also strengthen the process of economic decentralization, for which this institute, which I have mentioned, will be located entirely in the Antofagasta Region.

As I have indicated, my government will guarantee that the indigenous peoples and those who inhabit the territories in which this industry will be developed are direct participants in the benefits that it brings, no more mining for a few, we must be able to distribute the benefits of our country among For this reason, all Chileans will soon begin a participatory process with all the actors involved, local authorities, academic scientists and experts, productive companies and representatives of civil society to determine, together with them, the new governance of lithium deposits and salt flats. The National Lithium Strategy is compatriots, good news for the country, for the boys and girls who are watching us, for the young people and their families who live throughout the width and length of our territory, it is more wealth for Chile, which will be able to finance new schools, hospitals, police stations, in short, a a more dignified life for everyone, but it is important to point out and with this I end that we will be responsible with public finances, therefore, following the recommendations of the autonomous Fiscal Council, a rule will be generated that defines an expense threshold for lithium income, in this way the a transitory part of the lithium income will be saved to ensure the long-term financing of technological and productive social investments, thus promoting the sustainable and inclusive development of the country over time and consequently this is important given the nature of the income of lithium these cannot replace a necessary tax reform for the purpose of financing permanent social expenses such as the increase in the guaranteed universal pension or the national care system, for this reason I call on all political actors to agree.

Chilean men and women today we present to you a technically sound and ambitious national lithium strategy, which contemplates concrete and relevant spaces for participation. This strategy also includes the experience of those who preceded us and I have the deep conviction that we are taking the appropriate steps so that the The lithium industry helps us create a more prosperous Chile with scientific development, a clean Chile that cares for its people and its ecosystems, a Chile that innovates, improving the lives of all the inhabitants of our country, a Chile that fairly distributed wealth that among all of us we generate we are building a more dignified Chile and we will work together with you so that it is so moving forward has been for a better future thank you very much

the media for conveying the message of the President of the Republic also Government of

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