$3 Billion Lithium Project! SQM & Codelco Joint Venture Faces Environmental Assessment Turning Point in 2029

The Salar Futuro lithium project, jointly developed by Chile's SQM and Codelco, is expected to complete environmental permit approval in 2029.

The project is operated by the joint venture Nova Andino Litio established by both parties, with an equity structure of 51% held by Codelco and 49% by SQM. According to the plan, the joint venture will officially submit the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in June 2026, and after multiple rounds of review, obtain the complete environmental assessment approval in 2029.

The total investment of the project is approximately 3 billion USD. It will utilize Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology throughout the process, abandoning traditional evaporation processes and ceasing fresh water extraction to effectively reduce ecological impact. Upon obtaining all necessary permits, the project plans to launch large-scale construction and capital investment between 2029 and 2031, gradually commence production after 2033, and ultimately achieve an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons of lithium carbonate.

In summary, 2029 is the core approval node for this project, not the production start time; large-scale production will be postponed to the early-to-mid 2030s.