Business & Economics
Codelco–SQM Launch 35-Year ‘NovaAndino’ Lithium Joint Venture
On 27 Dec 2025, Chile’s state miner Codelco and private producer SQM legally incorporated NovaAndino Lithium SpA, merging their Salar de Atacama assets and granting the state a controlling stake in all Chilean brine output there through 2060.
Focusing Facts
- As consideration, SQM transferred 100 % of its concessions in the nearby Salar de Maricunga to Codelco.
- The tie-up cleared more than 20 antitrust reviews; China’s SAMR approved it in Nov 2025 with a ‘fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory’ supply condition.
- Fiscal terms give the Chilean treasury 70 % of operating margin from 2025-30, rising to 85 % from 2031 onward.
Context
Resource deals rarely happen in a vacuum. When Salvador Allende nationalised Chile’s ‘Big Copper’ in 1971, the state seized assets outright; today’s government uses a softer model, echoing Mexico’s 2013 oil reform—majority state control, minority private expertise. The pact rides a broader 2020s wave of battery-metal nationalism (Indonesia’s nickel bans 2020, Zimbabwe’s lithium export halt 2022) as countries seek leverage over the energy transition. Locking in control until 2060 signals Santiago’s bid to regain the top-producer title lost to Australia in 2017 and to influence global lithium pricing much as Codelco once shaped copper. Yet critics note the absence of an open tender and the opaque Morgan Stanley advisory contract—risks that long plagued other state ventures in the 1980s. Over a 100-year horizon the deal’s significance hinges on two uncertainties: whether lithium brine extraction survives intensifying water-scarcity scrutiny and whether lithium itself remains the dominant storage medium. If both hold, NovaAndino could become to lithium what Codelco became to copper; if not, this agreement may resemble late-stage investments in whale oil on the eve of kerosene (1860s)—strategic today, obsolete tomorrow.
Perspectives
Chilean progressive watchdog media
e.g., El Ciudadano — Frames the Codelco–SQM joint venture as opaque and potentially illegal, asserting it bypassed mandatory public tender processes and hides details from lawmakers. Strong focus on parliamentary critics and alleged scandals may overshadow economic or strategic benefits, reflecting an adversarial stance toward state-run companies and the outgoing government.
International business and investor-oriented outlets
e.g., Bloomberg Business, The West Australian — Describe the venture as a landmark deal that will boost lithium output, strengthen Chile’s state role and positively impact Codelco’s finances in the global energy transition. Coverage prioritises market impact and regulatory clearance while giving little attention to local political objections or environmental concerns, mirroring readers’ financial interests.
Global wire-service based general news media
e.g., Hindustan Times, The Times of India — Highlights the scale of Chile’s reserves and the partnership’s aim to restore the country’s leadership in lithium production, presenting the agreement as one of the most significant business moves in Chile’s history. Reliance on a single AFP-style feed results in near-verbatim repetition of corporate and government statements, providing minimal critical scrutiny of the deal’s controversies.