German chemicals maker BASF SE has abandoned plans to invest in lithium mining assets in Chile as a slowdown in electric-vehicle adoption worldwide drags down battery metal prices.
BASF withdrew from initial talks with Wealth Minerals Ltd., the Vancouver-based firm that has exploration projects in Chile, the German company said in an email to Bloomberg late Tuesday.
A potential arrangement had included possible funding and offtake if Wealth obtained production contracts in Chile. BASF also was exploring the possibility of building a plant in Chile to turn lithium into the cathode that goes into electric-vehicle batteries, part of a push to grow revenue beyond BASF’s broad suite of plastics and chemical products.
“No collaboration between BASF and Wealth Materials materialized in the end,” BASF wrote. The company didn’t give a reason for ending the talks or mention the proposed cathode plant.
