Chile: Chinese Lithium giants face new antitrust hurdle

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, a Chilean court is expected to rule in the coming week on a lawsuit aimed at derailing a deal critics say could create a cartel for lithium—a key component in batteries used in electric vehicles and smartphones.

The legal challenge is the latest twist in a nearly yearlong effort by China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp. to acquire a large stake in Chile’s biggest lithium producer, Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM).

Last week, Reuters reported that both Albemarle and SQM have accused each other of overdrawing brine from the Atacama’s underground aquifers. Both companies have operations in the Atacama’s Salar, and their operations are just three miles apart from each other. The brine water that has been accumulating for millennia under the Atacama is lithium-rich, and companies pump it out and send the brine to evaporation ponds where heat extracts the water and leaves the reactive alkali metal behind.

A court hearing is set for Monday, October 22, with a decision expected shortly after. If the court throws out the suit, it would pave the way for the sale of the SQM stake to close in the fourth quarter. If the court agrees to review the suit, the deal would be delayed for an indefinite period.

Tianqi and Nutrien say the deal won’t be anticompetitive, citing limitations imposed by Chile’s competition regulator, such as restricting Tianqi from placing its own employees on SQM’s board.

Full Content: Reuters, The Wall Street Journal