Codelco, SQM kick off lithium tie-up with board meeting

Reuters | December 29, 2025 | 7:59 am Battery Metals Top Companies Latin America Lithium

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Codelco head offices in Santiago. (Image by Rodrigo Fernández | Wikimedia Commons.)

The new joint venture for lithium operations between Chilean miners Codelco and SQM formally began operations on Monday with a board meeting.

The NovaAndino Litio company was established after an agreement signed in May 2024 and valid until 2060 was given the green light. It allows the state to boost control over the operations that SQM held in the Atacama salt flat.

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The agreed model stipulates that the Chilean government, which owns Codelco, will receive up to 70% of the operating margin associated with new production between 2025 and 2030. From 2031 onward, this will reach up to 85%, including lease payments to the state development agency, taxes to the treasury and profits to Codelco.

The plan includes the adoption of new technologies and process improvements, such as reducing net brine extraction.

The chairman of the board will be Maximo Pacheco, who leads the board of Codelco, and the vice chairman will be Ricardo Ramos, CEO of SQM. The remaining members are two other members of the Codelco board and two from SQM.

The firm’s CEO will be Carlos Díaz, who previously led SQM Lithium. The chief financial officer will be Eduardo Foix.

(By Fabian Cambero; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle)