SQM partner Tianqi Lithium requests shareholders vote on Codelco tie-up

China’s Tianqi Lithium said on Thursday it has formally requested that a proposed joint venture between lithium company SQM, in which it is a major shareholder, and state-run copper miner Codelco be put to a shareholder’s vote.

The Santiago-based SQM, the world’s no. 2 lithium producer, is in talks with Codelco over the deal, which was mandated by Chile’s government to boost the state role in the lithium industry.

Tianqi, which has held around 20% of SQM’s ownership since 2018, said that not enough financial information had been given to determine the deal’s impact on SQM operations.

Later on Thursday, SQM Board Chairman Gonzalo Guerrero told Reuters that “Tianqi’s public statements are regrettable and show, once again, that said company is and acts as a competitor of SQM.”

(By Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle)

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