We need to be open to finding strategic partners who have the knowledge, with whom we can establish a collaborative relationship to exploit lithium, while at the same time learning," said the Undersecretary of Mining, Willy Kracht. Source: Nueva Minería Magazine, September 29, 2022.
In the framework of the Lithium 2022 Forum, the Undersecretary of Mining, Willy Kracht, shed new light on the strategy being developed by the government to give impetus to the industry of this mineral, which includes the creation of an unprecedented National Lithium Company (ENL).The authority explained that "the design of the ENL is different from what Codelco is, this is not a new Codelco, Codelco is born from a series of capacities that were already in the country that are now under the control of the state and the country must take charge of continuing the operation. In this case, we want to build new capacity".However, Kracht acknowledged that in terms of lithium in the public sector there is neither the production capacity nor the experience to do so without the help of the private sector, in addition to the urgency to take advantage of the mineral boom, which is expected to take place in a short period of time."We don't have the time nor can we afford to learn without help, the boom is now. We need to open ourselves to find strategic partners who have the knowledge, with whom we can establish a collaborative relationship to exploit lithium, while learning from the knowledge of these strategic partners," said the authority, who is in charge of the inter-ministerial table that is working on the matter.He also said that to date work is being done to identify gaps and define the competencies of each of the state institutions for the exploitation of the mineral.The deadlines are one of the main concerns of the Government, which warns that in the future a substitute may appear, for which reason it is seeking to take advantage of "the window of opportunity", and several meetings have already been held with companies in the sector, as well as with representatives of other countries interested in collaborating in the development of the industry. These meetings will continue to be held in the next months, with the objective of defining in 2023 who will be the Government's strategic partner to enter fully into the exploitation of the mineral.Kracht also pointed out that ENL will be made up of several business units, which will start operating at different times. "Most likely it will start by doing explorations. It is reasonable to think that no new project should be able to operate with these old processes with high evaporation rates, when in an important part of the country there is a water shortage. We cannot afford to evaporate the little water there is in the salt flats, so new technologies must be tried. Therefore, together with exploration, it is important to advance in technology pilots", said the authority.
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https://www.terram.cl/2022/09/empresa-nacional-del-litio-gobierno-buscara-socio-estrategico-para-impulsar-la-industria/
