Corfo prepares a new call for tenders for the manufacture of 25% of lithium produced by SQM Salar

Corfo prepares a new call for tenders for the manufacture of 25% of lithium produced by SQM Salar

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Economics and e-commerce

El Mercurio de Antofagasta

During the second half of this year Corfo calls for a new call for international offers that will allocate 25% of SQM Salar 's lithium production for domestic manufacturing.

As advanced executive vice president of government distribution, Sebastin Sichel, who acknowledged the problems to finalize the first process badociated with the entity's contract with Albemarle.

Indeed, the contracts to increase the quotas for extraction and lithium production in the Salar de Atacama, signed under the previous Corfo administration, have considered the reserve of up to 25% of this production for manufacturing in Chile.

For these purposes, Corfo – with the support of Invest Chile – convened an international competition that generated great interest In March of this year, Albemarle merged with Molymet de Chile, Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. and Posco of Korea and Sichuam Fulin Industrial Group Co. Ltd. from China. 754 million US dollars and about 650 skilled jobs

At least two of these companies intend to establish themselves in the region, particularly in the Mejillones industrial district.

Under contract, these companies will have access to insurance and preferential prices of lithium products, developing at the same time value-added products on the national territory.

Once this process was completed, it was appropriate to allocate the SQM quota whose contract was signed after Albemarle, as Eduardo Bitran had predicted last year, this could be done through a new offer or by taking advantage of applications for the first competition.

DEFICIENCES

However, according to confidenci chel this week during his visit to the city, the contract that regulates this relationship – in the share of Albemarle – shows significant gaps.

"The first offer was defective, so what the taxman is doing is readjusting the new basis for the SQM fee competition and they are going to define three things that are not in the first process: the transfer price, the product for sale and the value-added project, "explains the Executive Vice President

once these aspects of the first contract with Albemarle bidder by the audit committee in which companies who have applied for the first offer can or This must be approved by the Board and the Contracts Control Committee, we prepare the basics, they will be presented to the Board in the next three weeks and a call for tenders will be called, "said Sichel.

Thus, this second call to add value lithium in Chile will materialize in the second half and it will be able to participate in companies such as the Russian Rosatom, the Chinese consortium Shenzeng Matel Jiangmen-Kanhoo, Gansu Daxiang and SinoVenture , the Belgian Umicore or the American Bravo Motor, relegated to the first half.

OPPORTUNITY

This announcement made by the Executive Vice President of Corfo, adds to the expected confirmation that last week made the same institution and which secured the research center on lithium for Antofagasta .

The decision will have an impact on the region, since the core budget will inject US $ 25 million a year for the operation of the Energy Transition Center and Materials. Advanced for the development of lithium

This figure will come out of agreement with Albemarle and SQM, however, the authorities expect that the final amount will reach $ 50 million with the contribution of private resources [19659021]. In the region, Antofagasta will have the conditions to conduct the global research badociated with lithium, recognized by the main actors related to the subject.