Santiago, March 9, 2018.- The lithium present in any mining property established since 1979in the entire Salar de Maricunga, in the Atacama Region, may be exploited exclusively by the subsidiary of Codelco Salar de Maricunga SpA.
This was determined by the CEOL signed this morning between the state company and the Ministry of Mining in compliance with Supreme Decree No. 64/2018 of the same portfolio and the National Lithium Policy announced in January 2016 by the President of the Republic, Michelle Bachelet, an opportunity in which the president commissioned both organizations to study the possibilities to develop the resources of this mineral in Chile.
Extract from the Decree Núm. 64.- Santiago, 26 de octubre de 2017 . Publicación: 01-MAR-2018
Article 2. The object of the contract will be to authorise the contractor (Codelco) to carry out, carry out and develop exclusively, all kinds of exploration activities and tasks, on lithium substances located in the contract area, defined in article 3 of the this decree (Maricunga), such as exploitation and benefit operations on lithium substances located in the area that is defined as a consequence of the work carried out by it in the exploration and prospecting phase, in exchange for compensation and subject to a specific payment, with exception of those areas covered by mining concessions constituted in accordance with the Mining Code of 1932. Exploration and exploitation and beneficiation operations must be carried out by the contractor in accordance with the terms and conditions stipulated in the contract and in agreement No. 2224/2017 of the board of directors of the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission. Likewise, the contractor must market the entire volume of lithium products produced, under the terms and conditions contemplated in agreement No. 2224/2017 of the Cchen board of directors and in accordance with the provisions of article 8 of this administrative act.....
......The future signing and approval of the contract is without prejudice to the contractor's obligation to comply with current legal regulations, and must obtain all the authorizations, concessions and permits necessary to carry out the exploration, exploitation and benefit of lithium deposits, such as environmental, sectoral and other applicable permits.This last point will take years for Codelco to obtain all authorisations required.
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