Chilean state-owned copper miner Codelco, the world鈥檚 largest copper producer, has after Australia鈥檚 Lithium Power International (ASX: LPI) shareholders approved the firm鈥檚 takeover.
The A$385 million ($254 million) acquisition of the Sydney-based聽miner hands Codelco the Maricunga lithium project, located on the namesake salt flat, which is Chile鈥檚 second largest salt-encrusted field in terms of reserves of the battery metal.
The Maricunga project, located within the so-called lithium triangle in northern Chile, is estimated to contain about 1.9 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).聽
The transaction, which now only needs the Federal Court of Australia鈥檚 backing, is expected to conclude on Feb. 23, Codelco said.
鈥淲ith this purchase, Codelco moves forward with its mandate of becoming leaders in the production of critical minerals for the energy transition,鈥� chairman聽M谩ximo Pacheco said in the statement.
Chile gave the copper giant a key role in the new public-private model for the sector,聽announced in April last year,聽which calls for public-private partnerships for future lithium projects.
The seamless nature of this deal contrasts with a recent string of failed Australian lithium juniors acquisitions. Local mining billionaires gatecrashed a series of deals in the latter half of 2023, including Albemarle鈥檚 (NYSE: ALB) A$6.6 billion attempt to buy Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) and SQM鈥檚 bid for Azure聽Minerals (ASX: AZS).
Chile is already the world鈥檚 no. 2 producer of lithium after Australia and holds the world鈥檚 largest known deposits of the coveted battery metal.
Codelco entered in late December the first lithium business tie-up with SQM for the future development and production of the metal in the Atacama salt flat, the only area where lithium is currently extracted in Chile.