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 plant is expected to improve B2Gold’s economic returns, reduce impacts on the environment and become a potential funding source for community development.
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.