Transiting Voisey's Bay nickel mine from open-pit operations to underground will cost about $2 billion, and is expected to extend its productive life to 2035.
The exchange said in March that any launch of a new cobalt contract would not be until the end of 2018 or early 2019.
The companies are committed to explore for mineral deposits first in the Asian country and then the rest of the world .
SQM has retained former chairman Julio Ponce as an adviser despite an agreement to distance himself from the firm to end a long-running royalties dispute.
The company is planning to sell new shares worth about 100-125 million euros ($117-$147 mln) in a deal valuing it at about 400-500 million euros.
The country's car industry currently employs about 840,000 people, with 210,000 of them working on powertrain production, the sub-sector set to be the worst hit.
The commodities industry downturn from 2013-2016 had a massive effect on companies in Australia and around the globe – with most mining companies going into survival mode. Since mid-2016 though, the market has been in a strong recovery cycle and, some say, it has now reached its peak.
Even best-case, mass early roll-out of new cobalt-light batteries won’t solve cobalt supply issues says new report.