Tianqi asks Chile regulator to reconsider decision on SQM-Codelco deal

Earlier this month, the CMF stated that a proposed lithium joint venture between state-run Codelco and miner SQM would not need to face a vote by SQM shareholders as argued by Tianqi, which owns a fifth of SQM.

“TLC Investments (Tianqi) filed an appeal for reconsideration in relation to the CMF’s pronouncement. The CMF has a period of 15 administrative working days to issue a decision on the matter,” the commission said.

The information had been reported hours earlier by the local newspaper La Tercera.

The Codelco-SQM agreement is a major plank of the Chilean government’s aim to take a stronger role in lithium output, in a country that has only two producers, SQM and US-based Albemarle.

Chile is the world’s second-largest producer of the metal used in batteries for electric vehicles.