Chilean High Court refuses to weigh Maricunga's lithium pollution

According to Reuters news on May 23, the Chilean Constitutional Court stated that according to a document of the court, the Chilean Constitutional Court stated that it would not participate in the foreign-supported mining company and the state-owned copper miner Codelco about the adjacent lithium of the Maricunga salt apartment. Mine dispute.

SalarBlanco, a 50% stake held by Lithium Power International of Australia, and BearingBath of Canada, held fewer shares, filed a lawsuit before the court claimed that Codelco had a constitutional ban on lithium mining.

In a lawsuit filed by a lower court that has not yet issued a ruling, SalarBlanco also believes that Codelco's license overlaps with its own license and was erroneously released.

But the Constitutional Court on Wednesday refused to weigh the dispute. In a written decision, it stated that reviewing a case is “the responsibility of a lower-level judge” and is not a constitutional issue.

Codelco celebrated the Constitutional Court’s ruling as a victory, saying the decision was “unable to present”.

It is unclear when the lower court can issue a ruling.

SalarBlanco did not immediately respond to the request for comment.

Codelco is allowed to operate in Maricunga by Chile's outgoing left-wing government in March, marking the first time that the copper giant has been involved in lithium, one of the world's hottest commodities and a key component of mobile phones, tablets and electric car batteries. .

At the same time, the regulator also granted SalarBlanco a license for approximately 473,135 tons of lithium carbonate for more than 30 years, also in Maricunga.

The controversy between the two miners is being closely watched by investors and foreign miners who are eager to invest in Chile, which has half of the world's lithium reserves.

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