LI3 Energy Inc (fka LIEG)

[Dr_Vonschellan]

What are the LCE tonnage_quotas_for_Chile? Maybe_we_just_found_out.
Chile has a governmental agency named InvestChile who has the responsibility of encouraging new investment in Chile. This agency is currently undertaking to encourage an international company to step up and begin to manufacture lithium-based end-user products (eg batteries) using the country's resources at "favorable" terms. A call for proposals to meet this objective was issued yesterday Click Here for Mining Journal announcement
Of interest, this call by the Chilean government for proposals is getting a significant amount of air time in India Click here for story .
The specifics of the call for proposals is outlined in more detail on the InvestChile website Click Here for original copy.

Buried in this article you will see a previously unpublished new figure of 300,000 metric tonnes LCE production target set for the year 2035 in Chile. This increase would "stage out" in linear fashion over the next 19 years as follows:
2016 - 80,000 mt
2017 - 91,579 mt
2018 - 103,158 mt
2019 - 114,737 mt
2020 - 126,316 mt
2021 - 137,895 mt
2022 - 149,474 mt
2023 - 161,053 mt
2024 - 172,632 mt
2025 - 184,211 mt
2026 - 195,789 mt
2027 - 207,368 mt
2028 - 218,947 mt
2029 - 230,526 mt
2030 - 242,105 mt
2031 - 253,684 mt
2032 - 265,263 mt
2033 - 276,842 mt
2034 - 288,421 mt
2035 - 300,000 mt

Albemarle has secured a yearly production quota of 80,000mt of LCE in Chile through 2043.

If NewCo Maricunga began to produce LCE in 2019 then it would figure Chile would be agreeable to endorsing a consolidated production target for other miners like us "above the Albemarle 80,000 mt quota" of 34,700 mt (ie 114,737 - 80,000).

In 2025 that figure for "other miners" could be 104,000 mt (ie 184,211 - 80,000)

It would appear that Chilean long range planners are not looking to throttle down or squander lithium output.

From what I see a NewCo 20,000mt LCE production target in 2019 does seem to fit into the big picture plan for Chile. If we max out at 48,000 mt for 20-30 years beginning in 2021-ish then it would appear everyone will be basically pleased. Over 48,000 mt/year we then start getting ecstatic I would think.

The Doctor