The acquisition would mark the Chilean copper giant's first foray into the lithium space, as part of the country's new public-private model for the sector.
The Copper Mark extends its responsible mining assessment already covering a fifth of global copper production, to molybdenum, nickel and zinc with the launch of a pilot program.
China buys about half of Codelco's production and also accounts for about half of global copper consumption, which analysts estimate will be around 25 million tonnes this year.