China’sBYD Wins Chile Lithium Extraction ContractJanuary 13,...

China’sBYD Wins Chile Lithium Extraction Contract

January 13, 2022

The contracts, worth $121million, went to China’s BYD and Chile’s Servicios y Operaciones Mineras delNorte, the minerals ministry said

The contracts, worth a total of $121 million, went to China’sBYD Chile and Chile’s Servicios y Operaciones Mineras del Norte, the mineralsministry said.

The two companies would be awarded the right to extract 80,000tonnes of lithium each. BYD bid $61 million for its lot, while Mineras delNorte bid $60 million.

US Albemarle, which produces 19% of the world’s lithium, andChile’s SQM, which extracts 17%, were both unsuccessful in their tenders.

Chile is the world’s second-largest producer of lithium afterAustralia, with 32% of the global market, according to the mining ministry.

The particularly low-density metal is primarily used in lithiumion batteries for electric cars and mobile devices.

“The entry of both companies will increase the dynamism of thelocal lithium industry so that Chile can regain its position on the worldstage,” the mining ministry said.

It noted that the quotas awarded amount to 1.8% of Chile’s“known lithium reserves.”

Chile awarded a lithium extraction contract to a Chinese companyon Wednesay, shunning two of the world’s biggest producers