At the end of the day, the mining minister will not make these types of comments if there is not full commitment in developing Maricunga - these comments were made just two weeks ago.:
“Prokurica said Codelco will invest over US$10mn in exploration at Salar de Maricunga, for which it is in talks with Minera Salar Blanco to develop a project.”
https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/chile-to-push-lithium-carbonate-production