SANTIAGO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Chile's Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, said on Tuesday that Australia's Lithium Power International (LPI) shareholders approved its purchase offer.
The state-owned company made the offer for LPI's operations, which owns the Salar Blanco project in Maricunga in northern Chile, at 0.57 Australian dollars ($0.3752) per share.
"With this purchase, Codelco consolidates its mining property in the Maricunga salt flat," Maximo Pacheco, Codelco's chairman said in a statement.
The Federal Court of Australia will have to validate and authorize the transaction, which is scheduled for Feb. 13. The entire process is expected to conclude on Feb. 23, Codelco said.
Chile is the world's second-largest lithium producer and Codelco was tasked by the government last year to lead a state push to take control of the industry through state-controlled public-private partnerships in strategic salt flats.
Codelco agreed with SQM, Chile's largest lithium miner, in late December to enter one of these partnerships in the Atacama salt flat, the only area where lithium is currently extracted in Chile.
($1 = 1.5191 Australian dollars)
(Report by Fabián Andrés Cambero; Writing by Alexander Villegas Editing by Tomasz Janowski) (([email protected]; twitter: @fab_reuters; +569 62479675;))
