Chile to nationalize lithium industry

For decades, Chile has been a capitalist and economic success story with its business friendly, small government model and political stability. Things may be changing in Chile, though.
The left-wing President of Chile stated he would nationalize the country’s lithium industry which is the second largest in the world. Leftists are now in control of five of the six largest economies in South America.
The current industry giants are SQM, ticker SQMA.SN, and Albemarle, ticket ALB.N. Lithium operations should transfer to separate state-owned companies.
The electric vehicle industry has been trying to secure battery materials for some time. Mexico nationalized its lithium deposits last year.
In the future, lithium contracts would only be issued as public-private partnerships with state control. SQM’s contract will expire 2030 and Albermarle’s will expire in 2043. We all know how well the government runs business, especially South American governments. State owned copper company Codelco will play a role in the creation of a state owned lithium company.
Lithium prices peaked in November and are now down 70% from that price. Given the deflated price of lithium, this move is less lucrative.
We will see future investment shift away from Chile toward places like Australia, maybe even Indonesia.
Works Cited:
https://batteriesnews.com/chile-plans-nationalize-vast-lithium-industry/