Wealth Minerals, Indigenous community form partnership on Kuska lithium project

Staff Writer | February 4, 2025 | 9:52 am Battery Metals News Canada Latin America Lithium

The landscape in northern Chile where Wealth Minerals is planning to recover lithium-rich brine and produce lithium carbonate. Credit: Wealth Minerals

Wealth Minerals (TSXV: WML) has teamed up with an Indigenous group residing in Chile’s Ollagüe Salar in what is considered a historic partnership to jointly develop the 100%-owned Kuska lithium project.

On Monday, the Vancouver-based miner announced the formation of a joint venture with the Quechua Indigenous Community of Ollagüe (CIQO), which will own a 5% free-carried interest in the JV and has the right to a seat on the JV’s board.

Wealth Minerals CEO Henk van Alphen said the company has been working on this agreement for several years, adding that the “only way to do mining is by effectively incorporating communities into the business and project activities.”

The Ollagüe Salar represents one of the first six locations earmarked by the Chilean government for lithium development

According to Wealth, both parties believe this structure is the right balance to bring Kuska to production and ensure the highest standards of community participation and transparency. The JV initiative represents the first of its kind in Chile, granting an Indigenous group leadership role in new lithium projects.

“The association with Wealth Minerals for the Kuska project will allow the community to be involved in the development of the project, making decisions and guiding the care and protection of the most vulnerable sectors of our territory, ensuring that everything is done with the highest standards,” CIQO president Víctor Nina Huanca said in a news release.

Kuska consists of approximately 105 sq. km. near the Chile-Bolivia border, and is about 200 km due north the of famous Atacama Salar.

The Ollagüe Salar represents one of the first six locations earmarked by the Chilean government for lithium development. This designation, according to Wealth, means that Kuska will be prioritized to receive a special lithium operation contract by Chile.

In early 2023, the company released an initial resource estimate for the Kuska project that showed 741,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in the indicated category grading 175 mg/L, plus 701,000 tonnes LCE inferred grading 185 mg/L.

A year later, Wealth published the results of a preliminary economic assessment that outlined a 20-year mine with annual LCE production of 20,000 tonnes. The study gave it an after-tax net present value of $1.15 billion (at 10% discount) and an internal rate of return of 28%.

In addition to Kuska, Wealth’s other major asset is the Yapuckuta project, covering 462 sq .km of the Atacama Salar.