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Interesting_possibility arising._Regions like_Antofagasta could_finance their
own projects (without any assistance/interference from Santiago) if new bill is approved by congress https://www-ex--ante-cl.translate.goog/regiones-con-perfiles-de-solvencia-para-emitir-deuda-que-dice-el-proyecto-de-rentas-regionales-que-elabora-hacienda/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
The new bill would in effect give 13 Chilean "regions" many of the same powers the 23 individual provinces have in Argentina which jump started "decentralized" lithium development directly/quickly in the individual provinces as the provinces could totally regulate, permit & tax the mining development to suit their local needs.
This is an interesting bill to be presenting in Chile today. I wonder if Governor Miguel Vargas is behind it? It almost sounds like something he would initiate.
The Doctor
Fastmarkets_says Chile_will go_from 2nd_to 4th_in lithium_production after
Mommy's Boy Gabby Boric's disastrous NLP announcement https://www-latercera-com.translate.goog/pulso-pm/noticia/the-economist-y-financial-times-alertan-sobre-efectos-de-la-estrategia-nacional-del-litio-y-posible-perdida-de-mercado-para-chile/4SQZN4VLUNCKHLXUHLYM4HVEIU/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Reprinted below in English in case paywall gets reactivated.
The Doctor
-----------------
The Economist and Financial Times warn about the effects of the National Lithium Strategy and possible market loss for Chile
The English weekly says that with this initiative "the big question is whether Chile's part of the pie will end up being smaller than it could have been." Meanwhile, the FT adds that, according to data from the consulting firm Fastmarkets, "the inability to take advantage of the lithium boom suggests that Chile will go from being the second largest lithium producer in the world last year to fourth in 2030, behind China, Australia and Argentina, and that its quota be reduced from almost a third to 12%".
The National Lithium Strategy (NLP) announced a couple of weeks ago by President Gabriel Boric continues to make people talk internationally.
This week two of the world's leading financial publications, The Economist and the Financial Times, reported on the issue, both with a generally negative view of the current administration's idea.
The English weekly The Economist highlights in an article entitled "The green revolution will stagnate without Latin America's lithium" that "more than half of the world's lithium, the metal used in electric vehicle batteries, is found in Latin America. The region also has two fifths of the copper and one quarter of the nickel”, which is why delegations from Europe and the United States have visited the region to try to secure these key resources for the energy transition.
“But while the outside world spies on Latin America's resources, governments are taking back control. On April 21, Gabriel Boric, Chile's left-wing President, announced plans to create a state-owned company to produce lithium. If the law is passed later this year, private companies will have to form joint ventures in which the state company has a majority stake," notes The Economist, adding that "Boric is not the only supporter of green nationalism" in the region. In fact, he points out that in Mexico the Senate approved changes to the mining code to reduce the duration of mining concessions. Andrés López Manuel Obrador, Mexico's populist president, also signed a decree in February to speed up the nationalization of the country's lithium reserves. The governments of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Brazil are debating the creation of an OPEC for lithium to control world prices. In Bolivia, the lithium industry is totally in the hands of the State, ”he points out.
In addition, the publication highlights that the Resource Nationalism Index, a classification prepared by the consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, which tracks the increases in royalties, the demands for locally produced goods and the expropriation of assets, shows that Mexico, Argentina and Chile have moved up the rankings. "Chile ranks 70th, from 89th in 2018," they say.
According to the weekly, “much of this is due to the fact that a wave of newly elected left-wing governments are now in power in the region. They want to do things differently than in the past, when wealth from raw materials ended up abroad or lining the pockets of friendly capitalists.” Thus, Latin America is part of a global trend, which has also been seen in Africa and elsewhere.
The Economist says that IMF data anticipates that if the goal of net zero emissions is achieved by 2050 in the world, revenues from related metals could quadruple, including lithium. “Chile is one of the places most likely to benefit from the windfall. Already mining, especially copper, represented 15% of its GDP and 62% of its exports in 2021.
In addition, he says that “many politicians think that natural resources should be used as inputs in local manufacturing instead of being exported as raw materials. The same day he announced his lithium plans, Boric proclaimed: “This is the best chance we have to transition to a developed, sustainable economy. We cannot afford to waste it."
“ But resource nationalism carries enormous risks. Nationalization has a bad record in the region. Pemex, the Mexican state oil company, is the most indebted oil company in the world. The Venezuelan state oil company, PDVSA, is synonymous with the collapse of the country. Petrobras, Brazil's public oil company, was at the center of the region's biggest corruption scandal, known as "Lava Jato." And state-owned companies may lack access to the cutting-edge technology that multinationals often excel at. For example, LitioMx, Mexico's new state-owned lithium company, is unlikely to prosper on its own. To date, Mexico has been unable to produce lithium on a commercial scale, in part because its deposits are more difficult to extract, since they are found in clay rather than brine. To dig them you need technology,
It also highlights that “Bolivia is the second country in the world with the largest lithium reserves. But it hasn't mined anything on a large scale yet. In 2019, the government issued a decree annulling a lithium project involving a US$1.3 billion investment by Aci Systems, a German company, after local protesters demanded higher royalties.
“As long as the appetite for green resources remains insatiable, Latin America will have enough leverage to impose conditions on private companies without choking investment flows. The big question, however , is whether your piece of the pie will end up being smaller than it could have been.. Chile is an example to take into account. The government already plays an important role in the production of lithium, which is considered a strategic resource. Royalties reach up to 40% (compared to 3% in neighboring Argentina), and companies are required to sell up to 25% of local production at below-market prices to producers who promise to develop the value chain of the national lithium. As a consequence, Chile is losing market share. Production is expected to grow by three-fifths between now and 2026. By comparison, Australia is expected to double its production in the same period,” they add.
Financial Times
For its part, the English newspaper Financial Times points out that "Chile has taken measures so that the State controls key lithium projects in an attempt to develop its vast resources of this key metal for electric car batteries, after decades of dominance by production by two industry leaders.”
“But mining executives and analysts believe the strategy unveiled last month will have the opposite effect, further eroding the attractiveness of the world's second-largest lithium producer as an investment destination, to the benefit of Australia, Argentina and several African countries. ”, says the newspaper, which adds that “the measure brings Chile closer to its Latin American neighbors Bolivia and Mexico in terms of dissuading commercial investors by imposing greater state control, although Chinese groups could continue to be interested in filling the void, according to an executive.”
Among the comments reported by the newspaper is that of Reg Spencer, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, who said that “the Chileans have shot themselves in the foot. Although the policy opens up opportunities for further development, it is going to have the opposite effect due to uncertainty.”
At the center of the strategy is the jewel in the crown of Chilean lithium, the Salar de Atacama, in the north, where the material for the batteries is extracted from the brine through evaporation ponds, the publication highlights, but alerting that “The groups that operate there have already started looking further afield. Albemarle, which has been quiet about the Atacama expansion for two years, submitted a $3.7bn offer in March to acquire Liontown Resources, an Australian hard-rock lithium producer. “I don't think it's a coincidence,” Spencer said.
According to the FT, “beyond the Salar de Atacama, there are sources of optimism. Junior lithium miners see opportunities to take stakes in nine salt flats held by Chilean state entities. But, efforts to introduce new competitors have failed. A potential new deal fell apart last year when an appeals court suspended a contract auction over objections from the local governor, after awarding quotas of some 80,000 tons of lithium to the world's largest electric vehicle maker, BYD, China. and a local company”.
“However, the inability to take advantage of the lithium boom suggests that Chile will go from being the second largest lithium producer in the world last year to fourth in 2030, behind China, Australia and Argentina, and that its share will be reduced by almost a third to 12%, according to Fastmarkets,” they say.
Mario_Marcel: until_Royalty question_is resolved_there is_no new_mining
https://www-latercera-com.translate.goog/pulso/noticia/marcel-pide-avanzar-en-reformas-mientras-tengamos-abiertas-esas-discusiones-vamos-a-tener-un-remanente-de-incertidumbre/Q4SU6LBMVZGWDMDMA5Z44NYXN4/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Dear Minister of Finance Mario Marcel, I hate to be the one to tell you this but you are dealing with a bunch of slimy leftist/commie thieving bureaucrats in this government whose DNA is based on the foot-dragging clusterfocking beaner gene... these beaners won't be persuaded to vote on your proposed new royalty tax legislation until each of them have received their all-cash under-the-table payoff/bribe. You are not going to see any progress on this royalty bill this year. You are better off waiting for the new Constitution Rewrite Convention II to be solidified with a majority Chile Vamos (or center-right) delegates on May 7 and then convincing them to simply/cleanly repeal the Strategic Mineral Classification on lithium which will then basically streamline solving half of your royalty tax questions/issues on all "concession-able" minerals allowing you to use the old reliable killing 2 birds with one stone method.
The Doctor
I'll_bet Brazil_gets their_next lithium_miner operating_before Chile_gets 3rd
lithium miner up and operating in Chile once again (note: Sigma Lithium was first for Brazil in this typical Brazil vs Chile race into lithium production) https://www-mineria--pa-com.translate.goog/noticias/latin-resources-designa-ejecutivos-para-desarrollar-proyecto-de-litio-en-brasil/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=nui
The Doctor
For_Q1 Deadbeat_Codelco says_73% y/y_drop in_contribution to_Treasury
is a' coming so Dear Treasury Minister Mario Marcel... get ready for a good old-fashion treasury focking because we high-flying Codelco beaners done hired way too many women for redundant make-work jobs, we lost our prime rich copper veins and we're digging way deeper for what inferior copper is left burning up more time/fuel/labor/money/overhead, and overall we focked up majorly https://vnexplorer-net.translate.goog/codelco-anota-brusca-baja-de-excedentes-y-preve-nueva-caida-en-su-produccion-en-2023-s1921683.html?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_hist=true
Yours Truly, Codelco.
Dear Leftist/Commies, you are going to need to sell way more cherries and avocados to China than you did last year to make up for this shortfall in shotgun-forced contributions to the Treasury. Good luck.
The Doctor
Dear_Willy, you_must have_zero pride_to keep_going as_undersecretary
(aka gofer-boy/toady) to Marcela Hernando. You have been completely eviscerated & castrated from anything to do with lithium and a French poodle could better execute the inconsequential/menial tasks Marcela has assigned to you over the last 4 weeks to deliberately keep you out of the lithium/NLP spotlight 100%.
Is your middle name Noballs? If it isn't... well it should be... Doctor Willy Noballs Kracht. Your German ancestors must be rolling in their graves seeing you groveling at work like this under this leftist/commie beaner greedy con-artist with not even one engineering degree.
The Doctor
Codelco_says it_has 100_people on_Maricunga and_finally after_7 long_yrs
of continual yearly dicking around it is almost nearly just-about sorta' kinda' ready to publish the test drilling results (aka the "Exploration Campaign") maybe along with a sorta' kinda' rough approximate first-draft informal feasibility study... maybe. https://vnexplorer-net.translate.goog/pacheco-y-exploracion-del-litio-en-salar-de-maricunga-los-resultados-son-muy-promisorios-s1916697.html?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_hist=true
Gang of 7 member #4 Maximo Pacheco made this announcement while standing next to Gang of 7 member #1 ultra-commie leech Marcela Hernando for the Gang of 7 https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=171824019 who had her ventriloquist's hand up puppet Maximo's ass controlling his puppet mouth up and down. Look at the picture closely... that is manipulating Marcela to Maximo's left side directly behind him a few inches.
The Doctor
Oh_goodie, we_have a_new color_brochure... #36 or_#37
we get about 5-6 new ones per year if memory serves me right.
https://app.sharelinktechnologies.com/announcement/asx/f9f462e7c91cf88fe3a5c6d499cad8df
But,
We have no financing lined up.
We have no offtake agreements lined up.
We still can't name even one person we have talked to about JV-ing with on Maricunga.
We still need to fire everyone in management except Martin Borda and Russel Barwick.
We still don't know if the next CR (Capital Raise) is coming in another week or in a month.
The Doctor
Mining_drops 2%_in March_and now adjusted_8.5% for_year under_Boric
Complex moment for mining: The figures and high uncertainty which the sector is experiencing that caused the fall of IMACEC
https://www-emol-com.translate.goog/noticias/Economia/2023/05/02/1093861/analisis-caida-mineria-imacec-marzo.html?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Marco Correa, chief economist at BICE Inversiones says drop is linked to " less copper extraction and processing." Copper veins are running out of easy-to-extract-profitably copper.
"The bulk of the decrease is endorsed by Codelco, where contributions fell 52% annually during 2022. In total, the state copper company contributed an amount close to US$2.3 billion to state coffers last year" as written by Ignacia Munita C.
With respect to Lithium mining Jorge Riesco President of the National Mining Society (SONAMI) points out "mining threatens to be stifled by politics and regulations."
Amen.
The Doctor
Chilean_Mining Chamber:_No incentives_for private_miners in Boric's_NLP
https://www-reporteminero-cl.translate.goog/noticia/noticias/2023/05/no-hay-incentivos-para-las-empresas-privadas-en-la-estrategia-nacional-del-litio?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en
Negative tone articles like this one in Chile are easily running 10 negative articles plus to every one positive article... and most of the positive/sympathetic articles are authored only by the Gang of 7 indoctrinated talking heads as far as I can tell.
Gang of 7
1. Anti-Mining Marcela Hernando (future 2026 presidential candidate representing ultra-commies)
2. Mommy's Boy Gabby Boric.
3. Eduardo Bitran from Codelco (ex CORFO hitman).
4. Codelco CEO Maximo Pacheco.
5. Used car salesman Minister of Economy Nicolas Grau.
6. José Miguel Benavente Executive VP of CORFO.
7. Finance Minister Mario Marcel (half-halfheartedly).
Other than these 7 (note: six are un-elected self-enriching bureaucrats) no one else of any consequence writes in favor of Boric's NLP.
The Doctor
If_Juan Carlos_Jobet ain't_running for_2026 president,_then I'm_a
monkey's uncle. Here's another comprehensive wide-view lithium-centric article from Juan Carlos Jobet as co-author on May 2, 2023
https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/chiles-new-lithium-strategy-why-it-matters-and-what-to-watch-for/ published by the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University New York City NY USA
In the next Chilean election Juan's platform will include lithium as his number 1 rock solid "established way back in 2023" solid plank... by the time campaigning for president starts in Chile (July 2025) he will have every lithium question/policy/strategy already answered and solved ready for full-implementation the day after inauguration in March 2026... unlike Boric & Hernando who are still fumbling around on lithium like two cripple-crap monkeys 14 months after Mommy's Boy Gabby Boric's inauguration .
I wonder if Juan will appoint Dr Willy Kracht as his Minister of Mining? Now that would be truly amazing.
The Doctor
DLE:_to re-inject or_not_to re-inject...that is_the question, Whether_'tis
nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune... by letting the "spoil/tailings" simply spill into a ground-level valley nearby or pay to truck it offsite far away or buy even more electricity and power inject the spoil back down into the ground to a level much deeper than the prime lithium aquifer in order to avoid severely diluting the precious yet untouched lithium reservoir underground... Or, to take arms against a sea of troubles as argued for both sides by William Miner Shakespeare.
The other debate on lithium: doubts about direct extraction with reinjection of brine
https://vnexplorer-net.translate.goog/el-otro-debate-sobre-el-litio-las-dudas-sobre-extraccion-directa-con-reinyeccion-de-salmueras-s1908486.html?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_hist=true
The Doctor
Must see video includes the project founder Luis Saenz
May7_Constitutional Council_vote for_50-52 councilors. If_Boric's commies
lose (again for 3rd match-at-polls in a row), then its effectively lights out for them (and a new left-wing constitution) at least through March 2026 when a new president takes office... hopefully it is Juan Carlos Jobet (Chile Vamos leaning) or Sebastian Sichel (Center-right) or Jose Kast (lite-fascista). https://www-ex--ante-cl.translate.goog/la-eleccion-del-7-de-mayo-sera-la-prolongacion-del-rechazo-por-sergio-munoz-riveros/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
The Doctor
SIMCO's_Francisco Javier_Errázuriz open_to partnering_w/Codelco/ENAMI
Francisco Javier Errázuriz and lithium: "We want to be the first partners of ENAMI and Codelco to develop this industry"
https://vnexplorer.net/francisco-javier-errazuriz-y-el-litio-queremos-ser-los-primeros-socios-de-enami-y-codelco-para-desarrollar-esta-industria-s1864396.html April 30, 2023
Google English translation below
Our normally very very tight-lipped neighbor Francisco Javier Errázuriz sits down with journalist Victor Cofre to talk about the latest edition of the NLP plus his/SIMCO's relations with neighbors LPI and Codelco to answer the Top-28 Questions surely on everyone's mind now especially after the latest Supreme Court ruling in favor of Simbalik/SIMCO over Codelco.
Francisco Javier Errázuriz says he does not want to directly crap on MSB/LPI but in Question 15 he expresses (ie craps out) the idea that we will fail in ultimately mining 20,000mtpa using old-school brine evaporation pools (which could be averted by buying into his hoity-toity super-duper low-priced hurry-hurry-get-a-deal brand-new DLE machines now) in an environmental failure which will be "signaled" if we accidentally lower the water level in the nearby Santa Rosa lagoon by 8% using our SEA approval brine evaporation permit. Geez, talk about a vulture flying in circles over our 14-year-continaully-hammered MSB/LPI project.
Dear Francisco Javier Errázuriz, do you have any intention to mount radio_controlled directional drilling heads on your drilling rigs and drill on a slant (instead of drilling straight down) across our property line over into our portion of the aquifer and sucking out our premium brine from the Maricunga mother lode? That should have been Question 29. And question 30 should be would you dare try that drilling plan if Tianqi and/or SQM is our partner in Maricunga? Just asking.
The Doctor
-----------------------------
Francisco Javier Errázuriz and lithium: "We want to be the first partners of ENAMI and Codelco to develop this industry"
by Victor Cofre
The businessman who has led the Errázuriz family business for a decade wants to enter the lithium industry. He applauds the government's Policy (NLP), although he prefers private parties have control in public-private partnerships. But, above all, he promotes something that he assures is his strength, the development of Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology that he is testing in the Maricunga salt flat.
What is the Errázuriz group?
Is it a group?
Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ovalle, 50, who has been in charge of the family businesses founded by his father, the former senator of the same name, responds: "It is a group of companies in different fields, mostly in the country." he says. Where are they? Salmon, automotive, agriculture, fishing, real estate, insurance, forestry, vineyards, copper mining. Size: Bills between $800 million and $900 million a year, he says. ebitda? "Respected, confidential," he replies. Francisco Javier Errázuriz operates as executive director: on the boards of several of the companies are some of his six brothers and there are also independent directors. The commercial engineer from the University of Chile speaks little in public and decides to do so because lithium interests him. One of the family companies, Cosayach, developed the iodine business since the eighties and then searched for potassium deposits. “On a rebound we came to lithium,” says Errázuriz.
In this work, the group added belongings prior to 1979, the date on which it was decreed that lithium was state-owned, strategic and non-concesson-able. Rights prior to that date are excluded from that prohibition. The Errázuriz family also has registered belongings after 1979.
The former are part of its most advanced project: a US$350 million plan to produce lithium carbonate and hydroxide in the Maricunga salt flat, in partnership with Simbalik, a Singapore fund, and where it has also developed direct extraction technology that , he assures, is a solution to the environmental problems of evaporation via swimming pools.
The second are properties in the Salar de Coipasa, a Bolivian aquifer that penetrates Chilean territory. And another 40,000 hectares adjacent to the Atacama salt flat.
But Errázuriz spends time explaining the most relevant, in his opinion, of his experience in Maricunga: in 2010, he says, his companies formed a technological consortium with the American IBC and the Japanese Jogmec and Chori to develop a direct extraction technology that recovers 99% of the lithium from brines -unlike 40% of evaporation techniques-, with less energy expenditure and without the consumption of fresh water. It allows, he assures, to produce lithium hydroxide and has meant an investment of US$ 20 million. The National Lithium Policy (NLP) encourages this technological migration and Errázuriz presents it as his great strength.
Q1. What do you think of the policy, the National Lithium Policy (NLP)?
A1. It seemed correct and comprehensive because it solves many problems by having a public-private association, which seems prudent, intelligent, and not a mere extra-activist royalty, in which one has the State as a mere collector, but rather has a partner State that can collaborate on complex projects like these. Therefore, more than criticizing it, I value it, because it has had the courage to be a Policy (NLP) that shares the principles that this government has always said and that solves many legal technical problems.
Q2. The business unions say that in this NLP policy there is a distrust of the private sector. Do you share that opinion?
A2. I do not share it, obviously, because I support it (ie NLP) and find it reasonable. The unions of the business sectors defend the role of the private sector, but the role of the private sector in this policy is defended and this has been demonstrated: the good of the private sector and the good of the public sector are shared.
Q3. Isn't the government's claim to have state control in lithium operations a DISINCENTIVE for investors like you?
A3. That is what the guilds have tried to say but the Policy (NLP) does not say so.
Q4. The Policy (NLP) speaks of a majority participation of the State in "strategic" projects.
A4. A majority have focused in that point, but he (Boric/Mario-Marcel) has subsequently clarified that it will be seen on a case-by-case basis and it will be seen what that means with respect to the majority of the income along with defining what each party can contribute to the rapid, urgent development that this industry needs. We want to be partners of ENAMI or Codelco, but not just (silent/passive) partners, to be the first partners to develop this industry. We have been working for many years so that this industry is competitive, transparent, on equal terms and we are going to be the first to reach an agreement with the State, so that this industry develops and generates wealth for all.
Q5. And are you willing to NOT be in control of a project?
A5. It has been said by the government that the control is not necessarily a corporate control, but there can be different types of control. You have to see it, negotiate it, but obviously the government and the executives that are going to be part of these negotiations are intelligent, mature people who know what they are talking about and obviously there are no incentives if they are in the majority. With majority control, nobody is going to invest a lot of money, because here you have to invest a lot of money.
Q6. The Coipasa and Salar de Atacama properties date from after 1979. Do they have any economic value today?
A6. They have a lot of economic value, because the Mining Code, in its articles 7, 8 & 9 -you have to read all three to understand it well-, establishes that a public-private association must be reached. First, the state owns the lithium. The State can exploit it through State companies or by CEOL (Special Lithium Operation Contract) or by administrative permit. But Article 9 says that any owner of new belongings who discovers non-concession-able substances, has to inform the State that he (ie the miner) has found those non-concession-able substances. In the case of lithium the State must reimburse the money (the equity investment) to the owner of the mining concession to separate it out on behalf of the State. That is why the lithium industry has not been able to develop, because it is blocked: the State is the owner, but the right is in the private sector to separate it out with the State's money.
Q7. And this Policy (NLP) unlocks it?
A7. And this Policy (NLP) unlocks it, because an association is made, where the State contributes what it has, the lithium; the private (ie miner) contributes the exclusive right to exploit it, to separate it, and (earn) the money. Therefore, for both parties it is solved. That is why Codelco has not fulfilled its CEOL granted in 2018 in Maricunga.
Q7a ....because why exactly?
A7a. Because you cannot enter the property of a third party because they are going to tell you, listen, I am the only mining concessionaire that has the right, the obligation and the exclusive right to separate the lithium (ie from all the combined ore), if I find it, not you.
Q8. Is the idea to develop the Atacama and Coipasa salt flats?
A8. If we reach a public-private partnership with the State, we will be the first to develop these projects.
Q9. What is the priority for you as a group; Coipasa, Atacama or Maricunga?
A9. We have the technical and economic capacity to carry out all three in parallel.
Q10. What is the most advanced?
A10. Maricunga, because since we have the permits from the CChEN (Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission), we explored, the deposit was identified to its full extent, the engineering was carried out, the RCAs were carried out and most important of all, which is the great advantage that the Errázuriz group has today, since in 2010 a consortium was formed to search for the best DLE Direct Lithium Extraction technologies. This salt flat, being the second in size, it is impossible to extract it by evaporation, because it would generate an environmental problem. That is why this National Lithium Policy (NLP) is very current, very futuristic, very farsighted, because it forces the private sector to make a quantum advance in production, using direct extraction technology.
Q11. A. DLE Direct Lithium Extraction technology is not proven on an industrial scale anywhere in the world.
A11. That is what people who do not know the subject and are not at the technological forefront of direct lithium extraction say. That is what those who have traditional technologies say and do not want competition from direct extraction technologies.
Q12. Can you name a deposit that has large-scale direct extraction technology?
A12. Salar Centenario Ratones, an association between Eramet and Tsingshan, which is under construction in Argentina.
Q13. Can I ask if that it is in operation?
A13. And will start. That plant operated for more than two years with a relevant industrial-scale pilot plant. This is real. In Chile, the Errázuriz group finished building its industrial-scale pilot plant, which will produce 70 tons of lithium hydroxide directly, this is not a laboratory, it is not a pilot plant in a couple of containers.
Q14. Three separate operators do not work smoothly in Maricunga, Codelco has said. There is also Salar Blanco. Is consolidation the most logical solution?
A14. In Maricunga there is no room for any participant with solar evaporation. Therefore, the one that does not have direct extraction does not fit.
Q15. It refers to Salar Blanco (ie MSB/LPI), which is the only one with RCA approved by the Ministerial Committee and is with solar evaporation...
A15. I don't want to talk about the competition, but to our knowledge in Maricunga, which is very abundant, it does not allow for solar evaporation if you do not want to affect the Santa Rosa lagoon and the National Park. Anyone who wants to risk investing millions of dollars should do so, but I assure you that he will end up paralyzed. This is the RCA that they have obtained: if there is a decrease in the level of flora and fauna of more than 8%, it has to stop. Traditional technologies have a great environmental impact, they have a very poor recovery of lithium maintained in the brine: maximum 35%, 40% in the best brines, which are in the Atacama salt flat, not in the Maricunga salt flat. And this technology, ours, has zero impact, on the aquifer, on fresh water...
Q16. People discovered (ie reverse-engineered) the formula for Coca Cola...
A16. Yes, and I'm honest: it's very simple, so we're not going to be the only ones to discover it: Eramet and Tsingshan have already discovered it, and there are other technologies that are all heading that way. Therefore, we thank this government for having listened to the industry, scientists and new technological advances to force private companies to set high goals that force them to develop technologies. We have reached the goal after 13 years of producing direct extraction, without evaporation and without consumption of fresh water, we are very proud.
Q17. But will they have to prove that in conversations with the partners or with the competitors of the Maricunga salt flat...?
A17. When we arrive at results it is because they are true. In a couple more weeks we are going to have an inauguration in Copiapó, with all the authorities, where what (DLE) we are promoting will be demonstrated in situ...
Q18. Have you had conversations with Codelco or Salar Blanco?
A18. We have not had a conversation with Codelco, we have first had to work internally to reach this objective of concrete facts, to talk about concrete things. I hope Codelco doesn't have time to talk about assumptions and illusions and we don't have time to talk about illusions or assumptions. With concrete facts like these, we can now make the National Lithium Policy (NLP) a reality…
Q19.... and have you talked with Salar Blanco? (First attempt for a Yes or No answer)
A19. … we want to make the National Lithium Policy (NLP) a reality before the end of this government; We have the technological, financial, technical, and professional capacity to make the National Lithium Policy (NLP) a reality, hopefully to produce before the end of this government.
Q20. Have you had conversations with Salar Blanco? (Second attempt for a Yes or No answer)
A20. Salar Blanco (MSB/LPI) is our competition, we have normal and fluid relations with competitors.
Q21. But can you imagine a partnership with them? (Third attempt for a Yes or No answer)
A21. And why not? We have always said, please, come and see our technology, it is working for us, it is working for us, see it.
Q22. And have you been to see them (ie MSB?LPI)?
A22. They are cordially invited. And they will go. We are currently in the technology demonstration phase and they are going to be invited and we have issued a public invitation to all lithium projects.
Q23. Are you in favor of consolidating the Maricunga salt flat into a single operator?
A23. If it is for the good of the project that can be developed, happy. We are the first to want more competition, more production, more wealth for Chile and to share that wealth.
Q24. You asked to advance the tender for the Atacama salt flat. Does the Policy (NLP) of renegotiating with SQM seem appropriate to you?
A24. The National Lithium Policy (NLP)is very appropriate, is very courageous, is very visionary, was framed in the case of the Atacama salt flat. The Atacama salt flat has an RCA to produce until 2030, but since the National Lithium Policy requires that new technologies be by DLE Direct Lithium Extraction, this leads the State and SQM (Soquimich) to have to advance this decision (ie to upgrade to DLE), because SQM (Soquimich) itself has said that any new investment from 2030 onward needs at least seven years. And CORFO needs to make a decision seven years before (2030) to produce in the Atacama salt flats in a sustainable way, with DLE (Direct Lithium Extraction)...
Q25. I mean, do you agree?
A25. First, I agree. Second, it is legally in accordance with the contracts, because the contracts say that this bidding has to be done no later than 2027.
Q26. But this is not a Tender (ie bid-able event)...
A26. It is a voluntary negotiation that I, if I were Soquimich (SQM), would be very grateful to, because it allows him, seven years in advance, to see what will happen in 2030. For the rest, Soquimich himself was asking for it. If Soquimich discards it, he would be making a serious mistake.
Q27. Even if you cede control to the state?
A27. But if the control has always been of the State, if it is the owner. Look, those are details that the State will have to see: Mr José Miguel Benavente (at CORFO) has demonstrated his lucidity, his common sense, his intelligence. The CORFO technical group, I know them, knows what he is talking about. The Codelco technical group, with Eduardo Bitran now being there, who knows the business backwards and forwards, having the technical capacity of Mr. Máximo Pacheco, being a former executive of a large transnational, I have no doubt that they will negotiate well for the benefit of the State and they will to see the best associativity for the parts.
Q28. The Errázuriz group has had, in the past, histories of many conflicts with partners and competitors. Does the Errázuriz group have a good reputation to be a partner of the State?
A28. Look, what you say... we have not had any conflicts with competitors in the 14 areas that we have. Our conflict is known in a single item that I want to omit because...
... with SQM?
…I want to omit them (SQM) because this interview is about the development of the country and lithium. The level of conflict of this group does not exist. Today we do not have conflict, except in a single item. And evidently in those areas, which I am not going to mention, where there is a great player who does not want competition, he acts aggressively, destroying the competitors. The group is there so that there is competition and if it is necessary to promote it, we will promote it. I want the lithium industry to be promoted everywhere now because, if not, the old one (ie the boom) is going to pass us by.
Best_concise one-stop shopping_list for_all of_Chile's lithium_hotspots
plus key players and an updated Who is Who list
The new lithium map in Chile: the few who are and the many who want to be
https://vnexplorer-net.translate.goog/el-nuevo-mapa-del-litio-en-chile-los-pocos-que-estan-y-los-muchos-que-quieren-estar-s1858873.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_hist=true
In bullet point #7 you will see the magic words that we LPIers have been longing to hear regarding Tianqi:
For the Chinese, the strategic thing is to have access to the resource, the mineral. Not only that. Tianqi could be an alternative from (ie after) 2030 if SQM does not agree to negotiate. Or I (ie Tianqi) could buy a Chilean junior. Or White Salt (Spanish = Salar Blanco). "Everything is open with the Chinese."
Also see bullet point #5 where SIMCO admits to favoring an alliance with Codelco and Salar Blanco (LPI):
In Maricunga they (ie SIMCO) have 966 hectares prior to 1979. SIMCO's plan is to invest US$350 million. In an eventual alliance with Codelco and Salar Blanco to consolidate everything into a single operator.
We here on this iHub message board have always promoted the idea that SIMCO and LPI are destined to "marry up" so it is nice to hear SIMCO is thinking along the same lines.
The facts and figures in this article are timely and extremely informative plus very helpful in determining Who is going to be Who in Maricunga, Chile's second largest lithium salar.
The Doctor
Dear_Willy Kracht,_instead of_repairing the_NLP today,_Marcela has
instead sent an online order to McDonalds to feed her lesbo/dyke presidential campaign-staff party this afternoon at her house. Marcela wants you to take your state-furnished Ministry of Mining car and run over to McDonalds to pick up the order while it is still fresh & hot and bring it over to the party.
Chop chop, little doggy... go pick up Marcela's food order and be a good little doggy.
The Doctor
BNAmericas_not impressed_with Boric's_NLP in_the least
Less clarity, more bureaucracy: Experts dig at Chile's new lithium policy
... and you know what they say in LATAM... they say,
"as BNAmericas goes, so goes the rest of enterprising people smart enough to read op-eds and not be fooled by the current crop of corrupt money-grubbing thieving non-elected bureaucrats conniving under a milquetoast president to steal a Pinochet-era dictatorial-decreed mineral to be state-controlled in years past for the purpose of enriching Pinochet's family & fellow fascists which was then 11 years later hijacked/co-opted by the communista to backdoor enrich all their party members"... that is what they say.
The Doctor
Australia_spills the_beans on_how Chile_can become_a world-class
lithium exporter par excellence https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/la-formula-que-convirtio-a-australia-en-el-principal-productor-de-litio-del-mundo/JKODUPMMORBSPKSXYJ5CBSBWOI/
or on MSN https://www.msn.com/es-cl/dinero/other/la-f%C3%B3rmula-que-convirti%C3%B3-a-australia-en-el-principal-productor-de-litio-del-mundo/ar-AA1avrBc
or see English translation below.
Dear Mommy's Boy Gabby Boric, you would be wise to read this instructional piece... and next replace Marcela Hernando with Dr Willy Kracht before you really get your ass torched completely off.
The Doctor
----------------------------
The formula that made Australia the world's leading lithium producer
by Sandra Burgos
The absence of barriers to the exploration and exploitation of lithium, a royalty with significantly lower rates, and mining legislation that provides facilities for activities to develop quickly and environmentally sustainable, are the main ingredients of the growth that has taken place. Australia in this area.
In 2012 Australia passed Chile for the first time in the world ranking of lithium production. That year, its production reached 67,600 tons of lithium carbonate (LCE), compared to 65,610 Chilean tons. The following year, Chile narrowly regained leadership, which it lost definitively in 2014. That year, Australia produced 65,870 tons, versus Chile's 57,670, becoming from then on the world's leading lithium producer.
And it hasn't stopped. From that moment on, the distance only increased, registering the great leap in 2018, when its production reached 303,410 thousand tons. Last year it produced 324,700 tons and its projections are to continue growing.
According to the latest government resource and energy report -Resources and Energy Quarterly, December 2022- published quarterly by the Australian government, Australia's lithium production will grow from 335,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent in 2021-2022, to 399,000 tons in 2022. -2023 and 470,000 tons of LCE in 2023-2024.
“By 2022-2023, Australia's export earnings are forecast to more than triple - from A$4.9 billion ($3.2 billion) in 2021-2022 to A$16.1 billion ($10,664 million), and A$17 billion (US$11.260 billion) in 2023-2024,” the report states.
Cameron Perks, principal lithium analyst at Australian firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, says Australia's 2022 production will double by 2025 or 2026, with most of this increase coming from expansions at existing mines.
How it was done.
Lithium has become the sixth most important raw material -by volume- in the Oceanian country's exports, surpassing oil and placing itself behind gold, which it could surpass in the near future.
What was it that allowed Australia to make this leap? Gavin Mudd, Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering at Australia's RMIT University, Ph.D. in environmental engineering, he explains that the expansion of the industry occurred because mining companies decided to expand exploration due to the growing demand for lithium. “Certainly I would say that Australia did not actively promote lithium in any particular way, but miners saw their opportunity, sought and obtained approvals, built new mines and went into production. Around 2015, Australia had one lithium mine in operation (Greenbushes) and two in a state of maintenance (non-operational), but by 2019 we had reopened the two closed mines and built several more, with others in the planning”, he details.
Cameron Perks adds that it was important for this development that the first spodumene mines (a mineral that is extracted in Australia and that contains lithium) were already gold and tantalum mines, so they already had permits and a good geological understanding. of these deposits.
To this is added that, unlike Chile, in Australia lithium is not a strategic mineral, it can be exploited, which has been key to its development. Juan Ignacio Guzmán, general manager of GEM Consulting, graphs it like this: "Australia has taken very good advantage of the growth in lithium demand worldwide, given that it has a very open economy, in which lithium shares with copper, the iron and other minerals, the characteristic of being concessionable, that is, the State, which owns the resources, grants concessions to private parties to exploit them and obviously obtains in exchange the payment of a royalty and the taxes corresponding to the profits that are generated from that exploitation”.
Daniel Jiménez -partner at iLiMarkets, a consultant in the world of lithium-, former commercial vice president of SQM and lithium consultant for national and foreign companies, adds that another of Australia's advantages is its position towards mining. “It is a mining country, in which there is mining legislation that provides the facilities for activities to be carried out quickly and environmentally sustainable. The project approval processes are technical and not political”, he maintains.
Likewise, Australia has a very powerful “mining culture”, with an appropriate ecosystem: financing, processes, engineering, etc. On the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) there is a highly developed capital market for junior companies that access financing for exploration and project development.
Jiménez adds another important element: “Australia has never been limited by the issue of added value, with all the technological development they have. They have never put this before, so much so that, until very recently, they exclusively produced concentrates, not chemicals, which for Chile would be equivalent to producing concentrated brine versus producing lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide. Australia is only now starting to produce lithium hydroxide and there is interest in producing batteries, but none of that is limiting mining activity."
The treatment of the royalty has also had a lot to do with this virtuous cycle of production. “The royalties paid by lithium in Australia are significantly lower rates than what is paid in Chile to Corfo, and range from 7.5% for mineral (unprocessed), 5% for concentrates and 2.5% for chemicals. . In other words, it is encouraged that the more value you add to your product, the less royalty you pay, which is an incentive”, says Jiménez.
The rock versus the brine.
Unlike Chile, in Australia lithium is not extracted from brine, but from rocks, from which spodumene is obtained. “The mines here only produce a spodumene (lithium silicate) concentrate which is typically 5-6% lithium oxide (Li2O), which means only a few times the original ore grade of about 1-2% lithium. Li2O. This means that the most important step of converting lithium silicate into refined lithium hydroxide moves to refineries, most of which are in China and some of which are in Japan and Korea, etc.,” says Mudd. China is the main destination for Australia's lithium exports (96% in 2021-2022), followed by Belgium (2.3%), South Korea (0.9%) and the United States (0.7%).
To produce one ton of spodumene concentrate, a minimum operating cost of US$300/ton is incurred, that is, 7 to 8 tons of spodumene are needed to produce one ton of chemical. This is done in China, where the refineries are, although a couple have been installed in Australia in the last year. “Under normal circumstances, the cost of producing a ton of carbonate from brine is similar to that of spodumene, but when spodumene prices are this high, the cost of converting the feedstock in China is very high,” Perks adds.
Given the relatively simple processing to produce a spodumene concentrate, building new lithium mines is easy, the “hardest” is refining.
One advantage of Australia is that building new spodumene projects or mines is less capital intensive compared to the permitting and capital required to bring a new brine mine online.
Compared to Chile, the process is quite different. Cameron Perks explains that in terms of mining, Australia is the main producer, but not in terms of lithium chemical production. “It would be unfair to compare Australia with Chile, because Australia exports spodumene concentrate to China for conversion into chemicals, while Chile produces chemicals. Australia is home to several of the world's largest mining companies and service providers, with a long history in mining, so it naturally has an advantage in terms of available skills,” he says.
Juan Ignacio Guzmán points out that the geological resources that exist in Australia, in some cases are not rich as those that Chile has. “But Chile, having blocked that from the private to the industry and not having knowledge and experience on the part of state companies to be able to take advantage of the resource, basically has not been able to explore or exploit the other 17 salt flats that exist with the potential to produce lithium. and not only the Atacama salt flats”, he assures.
The owners of lithium in Australia.
These conditions have whetted the appetite of Australian and foreign investors. “All of our mines and projects are owned by mining companies listed on our Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). No projects are directly owned by the government. On the contrary, a figure like Codelco, which is 100% owned by the government, does not exist here. In fact, there is no national or state ownership interest in mining, excluding the coal sector, where there are still some government interests in some places, but not many,” emphasizes Mudd.
He adds that for companies, since they are publicly listed on the ASX, it is not an easy task to determine who their shareholders are. “Often the biggest investors are hedge funds, pension funds, retail investors and sometimes other mining companies. According to my observations, there is also Chinese capital and financing in some of them, ”he points out.
Indeed, the vast majority of mining projects dedicated to the extraction of spodumene are owned by companies whose shareholders include a skein of companies that contribute capital and associate themselves in certain projects. Many of these capitals are Australian, but they also come from China, Korea and the United States.
It could be said that the Greenbushes mine is today the jewel in the crown. Owned by Albemarle (49%) and Tianqi/IGO (51%), it will produce 43% of Australia's production by 2023, making this deposit the largest and most important.
Another of the mines in Australia is Mt Marion, owned by Mineral Resources (50%) and Ganfeng (50%). The two sealed an agreement last year for the Chinese firm to convert spodumene into lithium hydroxide in China.
There is also Wodgina, owned by Mineral Resources (40%) and Albemarle (60%), which is located in the Pilbara region, with an estimated useful life of more than 30 years.
Pilbara Minerals Limited is the leading ASX-listed lithium company, owning 100% of the world's largest stand-alone hard-rock lithium operation, called Pilgangoora. The operation has two processing plants that produce spodumene concentrate: the Pilgan plant and the Ngungaju plant. It owns 70% of the Mt Francisco project and is completing a joint venture for the development of a lithium chemical conversion facility of approximately 43,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate (LCE) in South Korea.
Its great appeal attracted a consortium of global partners that participate in its shareholding, they are: Ganfeng Lithium (5.7%), General Lithium, POSCO (2.7%), CATL (2%) and Yibin Tianyi.
Allkem is an Australian company (controlled by Galaxy Resources Limited) with operations in Argentina, Australia and Japan. It is listed on the Australian and Toronto Stock Exchanges. In Australia they own Mount Cattlin, an open pit mine that has a concentrator. The mine was built in 2010 but remained closed until 2016, producing high quality spodumene concentrate that is qualified in the lithium supply chain globally.
Core Lithium is an Australian company that owns the Finniss Lithium Project outside of Darwin in the Northern Territory. The first production of spodumene concentrate is planned for the first half of 2023.
Finally, the inactive Bald Hill mine remains in legal limbo.
SQM is also active in Australia. It was associated with the Mt Holland project located in Western Australia, in which it has a 50% stake in conjunction with the company Wesfarmers. This project seeks the development of a large-scale, long-lived, high-grade lithium hydroxide project. It will have an initial capacity of 45,000 tons of lithium per year, although it is estimated that when it starts operating -in mid-2024- it will be able to produce 100,000 tons.
In January this year, Australian mining exploration company Azure Minerals announced that SQM Australia will acquire a 19.99% stake in the company. Azure participates in the Andover Project (60% Azure and 40% Creasy Group), which seeks to become a world-class lithium mining and processing operation. On this subject, SQM did not wish to comment.
To all these companies that participate in the industry today, a series of interested parties are added to continue betting on this business through investment in the stock market or seeking an agreement with the operators, all attracted by the "Australian formula" and the high price of lithium.
“The Australian formula has enabled the country to triple its revenue from the lithium industry. It is something that as a country we should also try to emulate, and what Chile needs today is to grow in production, and any national lithium policy to be convenient for the country should ideally aspire for us to once again be the world's largest lithium producers , or at least keep us in second place. If we do nothing from here on out, in 2028 we are going to fall to fourth place in the world ranking, because Argentina is going to take advantage of our inactivity and the fact that we are frozen to be able to produce more”, states Juan Ignacio Guzmán.
Top-3_shysters from_the NLP Gang-of-7 on_video trying_to convince_us
they are all "legit upstanding honest hard-working above-board" unelected bureaucrats just doing their jobs perhaps as propagandist Nazi Joseph Goebbels used to say in the Nuremberg Trials. The Top-3 will then also tangentially explain how they are going to deftly rape lithium miners in as stealthy PC (Politically Correct) method as humanly possible with TLC and not too much blood to taint the overall lithium seizure being documented by the now ever-present personal smart phone cameras filming this entire upcoming embarrassing NLP clusterfock/expropriation story to its bitter end.
Click here for the Government Informs video, starts at 3:30 minute mark after dead space intro... actually the whole video is dead space if you ask me.
This YouTube video has decent English subtitles so I won't bother trying to translate this latest round of horsesheet from these 3 unelected penny-ante leftist/commie bureaucratic NLP hit-men/knee-cappers.
For background info on the Gang of 7 see https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=171761538
The Doctor
Joe Lowry video on the NLP
CORFO_wants to_birth PILNT_Public Institute_of Lithium_&NewTechnology
ASAP https://www.portalminero.com/wp/corfo-abre-convocatoria-para-el-diseno-del-instituto-tecnologico-y-de-investigacion-publico-de-litio-y-salares/
Applications to be the new PILNT designer (aka Doctor Lithium Frankenstein) are available until the close-off date for submission on June 6 https://www.corfo.cl/sites/cpp/movil/webingles
In order to avoid us LPI shareholders forking up another CR (Capital Raise) in the very near future to keep our useless management employed and collecting their fat salaries for doing nothing... we should instead submit a CORFO application on June 6 offering to unselfishingly furnish our crack management team to staff the PILNT office and formulate some inspirational lithium strategies for $100,000 per month.
We then kill two birds with one stone... or maybe three birds if we're lucky.
The Doctor
Selling_their NLP_bullsheet the_Top-3 shysters_from the_Gang of_7
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=171761538 are now "out on the road" trying to convince international Whitey/gringo investors (ie the Top 46 whom they won't even identify) that it is safe to invest in leftist/commie "move the goalposts every 2 days" Shile (Shile=Shithole+Chile). https://www-nuevamineria-com.translate.goog/revista/gobierno-ha-recibido-interes-de-46-empresas-por-el-litio/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US
Executive VP CORFO José Miguel Benavente, Minister of Mining Marcela Hernando, and Minister of Economy Nicolás Grau are all scrambling like blind rats as fast as they can now to repair/underpin Mommy's Boy Gabby Boric's lone sinking NLP disaster boat which is taking on water faster with each new day passing pretending even one of these 46 (minus 3 https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=171792035 ) companies will even get past the first hour of talking to these un-elected shysters on buying into Chile's new half-baked NLP lithium dream-burger/stillbirth.
It is all so embarrassingly pathetic now.
The Doctor
If_ENAMI wants_$1.5B then_how much_does Codelco_want from_LPI
to build a lithium mining project they have no engineering history or financial capability to even build in the first place? https://www.mining.com/chiles-state-miner-seeks-1-5-billion-from-lithium-partner/
Dear Crystalballs, is giving $673M to Codelco and then giving them 51% of our project the best plan you can come up with after 6 years of working on this project?
The Doctor
Good_news! Dr_Willy Kracht_has been_found hosting a_geriatric
ECLAC (who in the fock is ECLAC?) joint conference with the Chilean pickle ball association for 20 geezers https://www.portalminero.com/wp/subsecretario-kracht-participo-de-encuentro-de-minerales-criticos-organizado-por-la-cepal/
Dear Willy, we just got a call from your boss Marcela Hernando. On your way back to the Ministry of Mining she wants you to swing by a Starbucks and pick up 7 coffees per the attached list for a special meeting at 11AM with the Gang of 7 https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=171761538 to discuss how to repair Mommy's Boy Gabby Boric's shattered NLP disaster/clusterfock. She wants you to just deliver the coffees, don't say a focking word about lithium in the conference room, leave the conference room and go pull your pug out in the park behind the Ministry building for two hours. Can you do that?
The Doctor
InvestChile_was giving_out the_best gift_swag bags_at Expomin2023
and tasty Reese's peanut butter cups (after Mommy's Boy Gabby Boric's NLP TV speech a week ago Thursday) to 46 new foreign companies (aka Whitey/gringos) interested in the new NLP lithium policy. https://www-emol-com.translate.goog/noticias/Economia/2023/04/27/1093489/investchile-litio.html?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
I was one of those 46 people who signed InvestChile's guest book at Expomin2023 and I can assure you I have no focking interest in "participating" Boric's NLP. In fact, the foreign guy in front of me in line and the foreign guy behind me in the line to sign the InvestChile guest book told me they also had no focking plans on joining Boric's ridiculous NLP either, they only wanted the gift swag bag... and the gift bag of Reese's peanut butter candy... same as me.
So I can tell you with certainty that of the 46 foreign investors in Chilean lithium that InvestChile is bragging about... three of those investors have no intention whatsoever of ever touching the new Boric-poisoned NLP even with a 10 foot long pole in our hand.
The Doctor
if_only we_had gone_with Posco_instead of_LPI, we'd_be mining_lithium
today. Posco has the money, the expertise, the oceanic container ships and most importantly the WILL to actually mine lithium with their own two hands https://www-mineria--pa-com.translate.goog/noticias/posco-recibe-luz-verde-para-construccion-del-proyecto-sal-de-oro-en-argentina/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=nui
.... and don't get me started on how the ozzies screwed our Uncle Posco right out of Chile driving him into the arms of Argentina.
Fire everyone in LPI management except Martin Borda and Russell Barwick.
The Doctor
Q1 2023 LPI Cash Flow Report
https://app.sharelinktechnologies.com/announcement/asx/1a446096b408107d9135ee81b7d1ef32
If I were an English/grammar/writing Catholic nun teacher and we were still in grade school, I would pull out my solid oak 24 inch long ruler (note: all real bulldykes love 24 inch long rulers over the puny 12 inch rulers) and beat the knuckles to a pulp of the inconsiderate person who signed that document with an embarrassing illegible squiggle so we can never know his/her/its name. Is it really so hard to take just a few seconds more to sign one's full name legibly/properly?
The Doctor
Q1_2023 Report_for LPI,_new pictures_of our_execs ask-kissing Marcela
and this first quarter report is current through April 28 which is a nice touch https://app.sharelinktechnologies.com/announcement/asx/fecc2000dfe80d612cde679acfc65ca8
Basically LPI is still looking for someone to finance our Chilean project (for the 7th year running), they have also issued a proper number of Band-Aid media clarifications to put over the many dagger wounds inflicted on junior lithium miners in Chile by the latest half-baked will-never-fly beanerized Gang-of-7 NLP clusterfock without even once mentioning how many corrupt non-elected bureaucrats are now lining-up drooling for their hoped-for payoffs/kickbacks/outright-bribes/new-fake-subcontracts to somehow make this whole thieving leftist/commie NLP conversion into a warped NLC actually sorta' kinda' work. Plus LPI is still dicking around in Western Australia with something or other that we must hope can be fully developed through construction for AU$7M out of the AU$15M we still have remaining in the checking account at the bank hoping our last AU$8M can still do something miraculous in Chile yet.
That's it my fellow beaner shareholders for the first Quarter.
The Doctor
After_seeing Chile's_paralysis, Peru_says "let's_crank-up lithium_mining"
https://es-marketscreener-com.translate.goog/noticias/ultimas/Per-considera-que-se-est-n-dando-condiciones-para-desarrollar-proyectos-de-litio--43667247/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Dear Mommy's Boy Gabby Boric, you are doing a helluva' good job at "inspiring" the people to mine lithium... that is, "inspiring" the people in Peru to mine lithium to fill the gaps in lithium production you are creating for the next 3 years until the new Popular Party (UDI + Chile Vamos + PDG/Kast) is elected in the next presidential election https://www-ex--ante-cl.translate.goog/trasfondo-los-pronosticos-de-un-fuerte-avance-de-republicanos-reviven-en-chile-vamos-la-idea-del-partido-popular/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp which will be getting a huge bump up in the polls after May 7.
The Doctor
Terram Foundation Director: "There is no green lithium mining"
https://www-reporteminero-cl.translate.goog/noticia/noticias/2023/04/directora-fundacion-terram-no-existe-una-mineria-verde-del-litio?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en
Terram Foundation Executive Director Flavia Liberona says DLE (direct lithium extraction) is not yet the proven solution to green(er) lithium mining.
Well, I will be darn, apparently scientific/technical truth-telling in lithium matters is not yet dead in Chile.
The Doctor
SQM_to Boric:_Give SQM_$2,000,000,000...or the_lithium bunny_dies
https://www-redimin-cl.translate.goog/sqm-requiere-us2-000-millones-adicionales-para-impulsar-proyectos-de-litio-y-cumplir-objetivos-ambientales/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Marcela: blah-blah, I_talk all_day and_tell you_nothing. Here_we go_again
https://miningpress-com.translate.goog/nota/354899/hernando-estrategia-nacional-del-litio-no-es-una-nacionalizacion?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
From_Codelco to_Maricunga: sorry_we have_no money_to properly_buy
into your Maricunga lithium projects which you have been developing/financing completely on your own for the last 10 years, hence there is no mention in this Reporte Miner 10 article about us putting any "skin into the game" money into any partnership with a lithium miner. In fact, could you lithium miners instead please loan us (Codelco) some money and give us (Codelco) 51% of your existing companies/property plus lickourballs every morning before you go out to work on the hot arid skin-cancer-causing brutal salt flats? https://www-reporteminero-cl.translate.goog/noticia/noticias/2023/04/codelco-explica-que-rol-tendra-en-la-estrategia-nacional-del-litio?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en
We are Codelco. Today we will take your lithium, tomorrow we will take your restaurants, cabinet-making shops, pharmacies, bread-making shops... the list goes on forever on the possibilities for happy "joint ventures" with us at Codelco.
Deadbeat_parasite ENAMI_wants $1.5B_of privateer's_money and_51% of
privateer's lithium company in exchange for allowing privateer lithium miner(s) to get totally botfocked by the State on some 3rd class wild-goose-chase low-quality lithium projects out in bumfock Chile. https://www-nuevamineria-com.translate.goog/revista/enami-impulsa-proyecto-de-litio-por-us1-500-millones-y-ya-hay-interesados/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US Ooooo, now this sounds very exciting... if you are a complete retard masochistic lithium miner.
The Doctor
I_encourage you_to also_vote Hahahaha_as new_CEO of_LPI
https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/webinar-24th-april-recording-link.7348524/page-35?post_id=67491233
The Doctor
Marcela:_13months wasted over-analyzing/yacking/delaying...0 months
doing anything even remotely constructive for a lithium mining revival in Chile https://www.portalminero.com/wp/ministra-hernando-y-altos-ejecutivos-de-companias-mineras-analizaron-los-desafios-del-sector-en-congreso-expomin/
This nitwit moron Talking-Head is all yack-yack, analyze, discuss, sustain (when nothing in the world of physics is sustainable), coordinate ad nauseam, suckindiandecks, tabulate, formulate... while she is 0% instrumental in getting a solid detailed specific NLP established with firm partnership percentages, government equity "skin in the game" appropriated, or getting actual LCE export quota licenses into the hands of lithium miners who won't budge another inch until that paperwork is signed by CChEN and in their hard-working salt-baked calloused hands.
This "all talk no action" constantly jabbering dingbat self-promoting Marcela Hernando is an insult to every mining minister with more than an ounce of integrity on earth right now.
The Doctor
Reading_"between" the_SQM lines_hypothesis: Fock_Chile from now_on
We're investing in other countries https://www-ex--ante-cl.translate.goog/como-distribuira-sqm-los-recursos-de-las-inversiones-en-litio-en-chile-y-australia-en-los-proximos-anos/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp .. that is until these current juvenile morons under Boric are voted out... that's my best guess on what was said reading between the lines, but maybe you read/see something different.
The Doctor
Good legal summary_explanation from_legal experts_on NLP_comes from
Dario Constitution who is basically never technically wrong on anything in my opinion https://www-diarioconstitucional-cl.translate.goog/2023/04/26/estrategia-nacional-del-litio-en-chile-por-maria-paz-pulgar-phillippi-prietocarrizosa-ferrero-du-uria/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US
I always feel more comfortable about understanding the background of a contentious policy/law/dispute after Dario Constitution gets involved and intelligently dissects it further into much more "hand holdable" details for us normal beaners on the street.
On another note, The Finance Commission had scheduled a special session starting at 4:15PM Wednesday that would include most of the Gang of 7 https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=171761538 Nicolas Grau and Mario Marcel, Minister of Mining Marcela Hernando, and the executive vice president of Corfo, José Miguel Benavente... but the meeting was canceled https://www-ex--ante-cl.translate.goog/el-efecto-colateral-del-debate-sobre-el-salario-minimo-se-alarga-el-misterio-sobre-el-contenido-de-la-estrategia-del-litio/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp (to the delight of presidential candidate Marcela hoping to delay everything lithium until 2026 when she hopes to personally straighten everything out to her ultra-commie liking).
The Doctor
Deputies_baffled over_lack of_NLP clarity/planning over last_4days
The four days of concern in the market due to the lack of information on the National Lithium Strategy
https://www-ex--ante-cl.translate.goog/los-cuatro-dias-de-inquietud-en-el-mercado-por-la-falta-de-informacion-sobre-la-estrategia-nacional-del-litio/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
This is the new bare bones government sponsored website for the entire NLP program that Mommy's Boy Gabby Boric has "whipped up" https://www-gob-cl.translate.goog/litioporchile/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Gabby could have instead written all this minimalist mumbo-jumbo on the back of a paper lunch bag and saved himself the semi-slick HTML programmer's fee.
The Doctor