.....everyone then thought getting into lithium/battery was the...

.....everyone then thought getting into lithium/battery was the right thing to do,...
BASF Pulls Plug on Chile Investment Plans Amid EV Slowdown

• BASF ceases funding and offtake talks with Wealth Minerals
• German firm also was studying lithium cathode project in Chile

By Wilfried Eckl-Dorna and James Attwood
July 3, 2024 at 3:31 AM GMT+10
Updated on
July 3, 2024 at 5:07 PM GMT+10

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.