The $87.5-million deal is the latest Chinese acquisition of a lithium project in South America, following Tianqi Lithium’s decision to buy 24% of SQM for $4.1 billion, which has not yet been approved by Chile’s antitrust regulator.
While lithium and potash are often found in the same deposits and mined together, the increasing number of projects aimed at producing the white metal shouldn’t have an impact in the potash market.
Chile, known for its vast copper deposits, is joining the search for cobalt amid soaring demand for a metal that’s mostly mined in the politically risky Democratic Republic of Congo, which holds 60% of the world's reserves.
Expectations of a boom in demand for electric vehicles are leading investors and battery makers to stockpile nickel and helping to fuel a spike in global prices of the metal.
