Cold War-era nukes behind dispute for Chile’s lithium 

France’s Eramet and Chile’s state mining company Empresa Nacional de Minería (ENAMI) are headed to court in a dispute that could delay development of one of the world’s largest lithium deposits.   ENAMI plans to invest more than $3 billion with mining giant Rio Tinto to develop the Salares Altoandinos project. It is estimated to host about a quarter of Chile’s lithium resource, which could produce enough of the battery metal for about 1.5 million electric vehicles a year. 

Meanwhile, Eramet acquired all the area’s mining rights in 2023 in a bid to secure the special licence required to produce lithium under Chile’s Cold War-era legislation, drafted when the metal was considered vital for nuclear arms. The French company doesn’t hold the licence but is seeking to leverage its land position for a stake in the development.

The French company filed appeals against Chile’s selection of Rio Tinto’s $415-million bid in last year’s competitive process. Eramet has publicly called on ENAMI to open negotiations on the award, due to close this year, while filing multiple applications for easements and water extraction sites at the site. If neither side is willing to cede, the dispute could take at least two years to work through the courts and potentially proceed to international arbitration. Some mining lawyers in Chile are concerned that ENAMI’s respect for mining claims borders on expropriation.