The Latin American Lithium Resource Contest Intensifies: Geopolitical Rivalry Behind the Marginalization of Tianqi Lithium

Epigraph Amid the U.S.-led escalation of coercive tactics against Chinese overseas investment projects—resulting in successive setbacks for such initiatives—the urgent priority now and for the foreseeable future is how to counter the containment strategy spearheaded by the United States amid dramatic shifts in the international environment. Main Text On January 27, 2026, local time in Chile, Tianqi Lithium’s wholly owned subsidiary Tianqi Chile received a final ruling from Chile’s Supreme Court, rejecting Tianqi Chile’s appeal filed with the Supreme Court on November 21, 2025, local time in Chile. In response to the Supreme Court’s final ruling, Tianqi Lithium stated: “We reserve all possible avenues to safeguard the company’s rights and do not rule out further action, provided that the interests of relevant shareholders are duly protected.” On January 28, local time, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) announced it would establish a joint venture with Chile’s state-owned copper company Codelco, into which the divested Salar de Atacama lithium brine assets would be injected. Available information indicates that the Supreme Court’s final ruling marks the conclusion—after more than one-and-a-half years of judicial proceedings—of the dispute over operational rights to the world’s largest lithium brine deposit, the Salar de Atacama. Chile’s legal nationalization process for the Salar de Atacama has thus been formally completed and will now enter the implementation phase. First, a brief chronology of the event: SQM was originally established as a Chilean state-owned enterprise in the 1960s. Later, through a series of maneuvers, SQM came under the control of the Ponce family—the former son-in-law of Chilean ex-President Augusto Pinochet. The Ponce family holds a 25.76% stake in SQM via its holding company Pampa, making it SQM’s largest shareholder. In 2018, Tianqi Lithium invested USD 4.066 billion to acquire a 22.16% equity stake in SQM, becoming its second-largest shareholder. In April 2023, Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced the launch of a lithium nationalization strategy, mandating that Chilean state-owned enterprises must hold controlling stakes in lithium-related companies. In December 2023, to comply with Chile’s new regulations, SQM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Codelco; the two parties subsequently formalized a Partnership Agreement in May 2024, stipulating that, effective January 1, 2031, SQM will relinquish control over and management rights to the Salar de Atacama, and its financial statements will be consolidated with those of Codelco. Once this agreement enters into force, Tianqi Lithium’s subsidiary—and SQM itself—will lose their existing operational and managerial control over the Salar de Atacama. Following the signing of the Partnership Agreement, Tianqi Lithium immediately voiced objections, asserting that the SQM board had exceeded its authority and that Tianqi had cast no affirmative vote on the decision. Consequently, Tianqi Lithium embarked on a legal redress process lasting over one-and-a-half years. Prior to the Supreme Court’s final ruling, the Partnership Agreement remained unenforceable. Chile offered compensation and “incentives” to SQM for its integration into the state-owned sector: 1. Extending SQM’s mining rights at the Salar de Atacama lithium brine deposit from December 31, 2030, to December 31, 2060. 2. Increasing SQM’s production quota at the Salar de Atacama by 300,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent for the period 2025–2030. Second, the Supreme Court’s final ruling may trigger a chain reaction.

Lithium in Chile: Mining Giants Want It, BYD and South Korea’s LG Want It Too

By Zhou Zhou Edited by Huang Dalu Designed by Shi Chao Sources: Mining.com, Nikkei, etc. On August 29, Chile’s state-owned mining company ENAMI announced that six companies—including Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, French mining conglomerate Eramet Group, Chinese automaker BYD, and South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution—are qualified to enter negotiations for the bidding process concerning the Altoandinos salt flat lithium project in Chile. The other two qualified bidders are China’s CMOC New Materials Co., Ltd. and South Korea’s POSCO Holdings. Rio Tinto was founded in 1873; Eramet Group was founded in 1880. Lithium carbonate serves as a key raw material for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries. With lithium prices hitting historic lows, upstream miners, midstream battery producers, and downstream automakers across China, South Korea, and Europe are all seeking to acquire high-quality lithium resources at bargain prices. On August 30, Shanghai Steel Union reported that the average daily price for battery-grade lithium carbonate stood at RMB 75,500 per ton—up RMB 1,000 from the previous day—while spot lithium carbonate prices remain at their lowest level in three years. ENAMI announced that, following these negotiations, the state-owned firm will select one partner among the six to form a public-private partnership (PPP) for lithium extraction operations in the lithium-rich Atacama region. The northern Atacama salt flats constitute one of the areas where the Chilean government plans to launch new PPP projects to boost lithium output. In April 2024, the Chilean government unveiled its lithium production expansion plan, setting an overall target to increase the country’s current lithium output of 250,000 tons by 70% by 2030—and to double total output within the next decade. This ambitious goal underscores Chile’s strong commitment to developing its lithium industry. By 2026, Chile will host three to four new lithium resource development projects. ENAMI began seeking partners in May to provide either funding or operational support for the Altoandinos project, though specific equity-sharing ratios remain undetermined. Initially, 12 companies expressed interest. ENAMI aims to formally establish the PPP for this project by March 2025. The Altoandinos salt flat lies within the Atacama region and covers approximately 100 square miles. According to government estimates, the project comprises three undeveloped salt flats and is projected to produce 20,000 tons of lithium by 2032, scaling up to 60,000 tons by 2037—a threefold increase. Whether measured by reserves or production volume, Chile ranks among the world’s most important lithium resource nations. According to data released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2022, global proven lithium reserves stand at approximately 89 million metric tons, with Chile holding 9.8 million tons—ranking third globally behind Bolivia and Argentina. BP’s data shows that, in terms of global lithium production market share in 2021, Australia led with 52%, followed by Chile at second place with 25%. China ranked third. Together, these three countries accounted for roughly 90% of global lithium output. BP’s 2021 Data ▼

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Jul 28, 2026

SQM ranks 50th out of 65 in the Chemicals industry with an institutional confidence score of 3.00. Institutional shareholding fell 1.76% quarter-over-quarter to 32.84%, with ETHSX identified as the largest shareholder.

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