擁有全球最大鋰儲量的國家智利正起草法規(guī)，以拍賣鋰電池礦物元素的采礦權(quán)，此舉將吸引更多玩家進(jìn)入市場。

根據(jù)智利政府發(fā)展機(jī)構(gòu)Corfo負(fù)責(zé)人Eduardo Bitran表示，新規(guī)可能在今年3月Sebastian Pinera擔(dān)任總統(tǒng)后獲得批準(zhǔn)。

去年9月，礦業(yè)部長Aurora Williams曾表示，委員會將在2017年底前制定新的鋰礦規(guī)則。

自1979年以來，，政府宣稱鋰是“戰(zhàn)略性”資源，鋰元素被認(rèn)為是制造核武器的關(guān)鍵元素所以智利鋰生產(chǎn)一直受限，

過去二十多年來，政府都未曾頒發(fā)鋰采礦許可證，Albemarle Corp.與Soc. Quimica & Minera de Chile SA是唯一兩家可在該國生產(chǎn)的企業(yè)。隨著全球鋰需求的迅猛增加，有一些其它的小公司在智利獲權(quán)準(zhǔn)入或已設(shè)立辦事處，只待政府頒布新規(guī)。

Bitran周一表示：“我們將通過競標(biāo)的方式，最好的投標(biāo)人將被授予采礦許可證。”

他還表示，已擁有其他礦產(chǎn)權(quán)利的企業(yè)將優(yōu)先獲得這些地區(qū)的鋰采礦許可證。但投標(biāo)人仍然需要從智利核能委員會（西班牙縮寫：CCHEN）獲得另外一張許可證，其主要負(fù)責(zé)監(jiān)管鋰礦出口。

到2025年，運(yùn)營Atacama礦場的Albemarle和SQM兩家企業(yè)的碳酸鋰年產(chǎn)量可能將達(dá)30萬噸。單是Atacama礦場的產(chǎn)量就能滿足全球一半的預(yù)測需求，而智利其它鹽場的年產(chǎn)量可達(dá)10萬噸左右。

上周，Corfo和SQM結(jié)束了長達(dá)數(shù)年的合同糾紛，就SQM在Atacama鹽場的新增生產(chǎn)條款達(dá)成協(xié)議。這一安排還將為SQM與國有銅生產(chǎn)商Codelco在Maricunga鹽場的合作鋪平了道路，兩家公司都擁有礦權(quán)地。

Bitran表示：“該協(xié)議包括一個條款，即SQM承諾將盡最大努力與Codelco就Maricunga鹽場達(dá)成合資企業(yè)進(jìn)行談判。而且在Maricunga鹽場的經(jīng)營上，SQM是最佳人選，因?yàn)槠湮挥邴}場的中心。”

此前，市場曾預(yù)計Codelco將在去年年底之前宣布在Maricunga開發(fā)鋰礦的合作伙伴，但該公司在去年11月推遲了這一決定。Bitran表示，主因在Pinera政府任命新的Codelco董事長之后，該公司可能會分析與SQM建立合資企業(yè)的可能性。

SMM許慧梅翻譯自彭博

Chile Drafts Lithium Auction Regulations to Lure New Producers

(Bloomberg) -- The country holding the largest reserves of lithium is drafting regulations to auction mining rights for the mineral used in rechargeable batteries, in a move that would allow more players to enter the market.

The new rules probably will be approved after March, when President-elect Sebastian Pinera is in office, according to Eduardo Bitran, who heads government development agency Corfo.

In September, Mining Minister Aurora Williams said the commission working on the new lithium code would offer guidance by the end of 2017.

Production of lithium in Chile has been restricted since 1979, when the government declared the commodity “strategic” because it was thought to be a key element in nuclear processes.

The government hasn’t awarded a lithium license in more than two decades and Albemarle Corp. and Soc. Quimica & Minera de Chile SA are the only companies producing in the country. As global demand for lithium soars, other small companies have acquired rights or set up offices in Chile, waiting for the government to issue new rules.

"Companies will have to express their interest in a lithium license and then the government will see if there are others interested," Bitran said in an interview in Santiago Monday.

"We’ll go through an auction process and the best bidder will be awarded the license."

Companies that already have rights to other minerals will be given priority for lithium licenses in those areas, he said. Bidders would still have to obtain a separate license from the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission, or CCHEN by its Spanish initials, which oversees lithium exports.

Albemarle and SQM’s operations in the Atacama salt flat have the potential to produce 300,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate a year by 2025, according to Bitran. Atacama’s output alone would cover half of the world’s forecast demand, while all of the other salt flats in Chile combined could produce about 100,000 tons a year, he said.

Last week, Corfo and SQM ended a years-long contractual dispute by agreeing to new terms for production at Atacama. The arrangement also clears the way for SQM to partner with state-owned copper producer Codelco in the Maricunga salt flat, where  both companies have tenements.

"The deal includes a clause where SQM promises to make its best efforts to negotiate a joint venture with Codelco in Maricunga," Bitran said. "We don’t see how anyone wanting to operate in Maricunga could do it without SQM’s property because it sits right at the center of the salt flat."

Codelco was expected to announce a partner to help develop lithium in Maricunga before the end of last year, but it delayed its decision in November. The company probably will analyze the possibility of setting up a joint venture with SQM when Pinera’s government names the new Codelco chairman, Bitran said