Vale, BHP, Samarco could close $18bn deal over Brazil dam collapse
Sources expect a final agreement to be reached in October.
The head of Chile’s Corfo development agency said on Thursday he will launch a call for bids for projects making lithium products while accessing a preferential price “as soon as possible,” following a previous delay.
Chile is a major producer of the key battery metal.
Corfo had previously said it would launch the process in August but it was delayed due to a legal issue, according to Corfo chief Jose Miguel Benavente.
The chosen companies will have access to lithium at a preferential price produced by Albemarle, the world’s largest miner of the ultra-light metal.The firms would produce products including lithium derivatives used in electric vehicle batteries.
(By Fabian Cambero and Sarah Morland; Editing by David Alire Garcia)
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