智利起草法规投标锂采矿权 “引诱”新玩家入市

  SMM1月23日讯:拥有全球最大锂储量的国家智利正起草法规,以拍卖锂电池矿物元素的采矿权,此举将吸引更多玩家进入市场。

  根据智利政府发展机构Corfo负责人Eduardo Bitran表示,新规可能在今年3月Sebastian Pinera担任总统后获得批准。

  去年9月,矿业部长Aurora Williams曾表示,委员会将在2017年底前制定新的锂矿规则。

  自1979年以来,,政府宣称锂是“战略性”资源,锂元素被认为是制造核武器的关键元素所以智利锂生产一直受限,

  过去二十多年来,政府都未曾颁发锂采矿许可证,Albemarle Corp.与Soc. Quimica & Minera de Chile SA是唯一两家可在该国生产的企业。随着全球锂需求的迅猛增加,有一些其它的小公司在智利获权准入或已设立办事处,只待政府颁布新规。

  Bitran周一表示:“我们将通过竞标的方式,最好的投标人将被授予采矿许可证。”

  他还表示,已拥有其他矿产权利的企业将优先获得这些地区的锂采矿许可证。但投标人仍然需要从智利核能委员会(西班牙缩写:CCHEN)获得另外一张许可证,其主要负责监管锂矿出口。

  到2025年,运营Atacama矿场的Albemarle和SQM两家企业的碳酸锂年产量可能将达30万吨。单是Atacama矿场的产量就能满足全球一半的预测需求,而智利其它盐场的年产量可达10万吨左右。

  上周,Corfo和SQM结束了长达数年的合同纠纷,就SQM在Atacama盐场的新增生产条款达成协议。这一安排还将为SQM与国有铜生产商Codelco在Maricunga盐场的合作铺平了道路,两家公司都拥有矿权地。

  Bitran表示:“该协议包括一个条款,即SQM承诺将尽最大努力与Codelco就Maricunga盐场达成合资企业进行谈判。而且在Maricunga盐场的经营上,SQM是最佳人选,因为其位于盐场的中心。”

  此前,市场曾预计Codelco将在去年年底之前宣布在Maricunga开发锂矿的合作伙伴,但该公司在去年11月推迟了这一决定。Bitran表示,主因在Pinera政府任命新的Codelco董事长之后,该公司可能会分析与SQM建立合资企业的可能性。

  SMM许慧梅翻译自彭博

  Chile Drafts Lithium Auction Regulations to Lure New Producers

  (Bloomberg) -- The country holding the largest reserves of lithium is drafting regulations to auction mining rights for the mineral used in rechargeable batteries, in a move that would allow more players to enter the market.

  The new rules probably will be approved after March, when President-elect Sebastian Pinera is in office, according to Eduardo Bitran, who heads government development agency Corfo.

  In September, Mining Minister Aurora Williams said the commission working on the new lithium code would offer guidance by the end of 2017.

  Production of lithium in Chile has been restricted since 1979, when the government declared the commodity “strategic” because it was thought to be a key element in nuclear processes.

  The government hasn’t awarded a lithium license in more than two decades and Albemarle Corp. and Soc. Quimica & Minera de Chile SA are the only companies producing in the country. As global demand for lithium soars, other small companies have acquired rights or set up offices in Chile, waiting for the government to issue new rules.

  "Companies will have to express their interest in a lithium license and then the government will see if there are others interested," Bitran said in an interview in Santiago Monday.

  "We’ll go through an auction process and the best bidder will be awarded the license."

  Companies that already have rights to other minerals will be given priority for lithium licenses in those areas, he said. Bidders would still have to obtain a separate license from the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission, or CCHEN by its Spanish initials, which oversees lithium exports.

  Albemarle and SQM’s operations in the Atacama salt flat have the potential to produce 300,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate a year by 2025, according to Bitran. Atacama’s output alone would cover half of the world’s forecast demand, while all of the other salt flats in Chile combined could produce about 100,000 tons a year, he said.

  Last week, Corfo and SQM ended a years-long contractual dispute by agreeing to new terms for production at Atacama. The arrangement also clears the way for SQM to partner with state-owned copper producer Codelco in the Maricunga salt flat, where both companies have tenements.

  "The deal includes a clause where SQM promises to make its best efforts to negotiate a joint venture with Codelco in Maricunga," Bitran said. "We don’t see how anyone wanting to operate in Maricunga could do it without SQM’s property because it sits right at the center of the salt flat."

  Codelco was expected to announce a partner to help develop lithium in Maricunga before the end of last year, but it delayed its decision in November. The company probably will analyze the possibility of setting up a joint venture with SQM when Pinera’s government names the new Codelco chairman, Bitran said

  *上海有色

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