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Corfo reaffirmed today that before December 15 will submit to arbitration in the International Chamber of Commerce his contract with American Albemarle, for differences in the interpretation of a clause.
"We would like this nuisance not to happen because we are strategic partners in this industry and I wish we had managed to build an agreement that would benefit the installation of this industry and we felt that the price they are offering does not, "said Sebastián Sichel, executive vice president of Corfo, told Reuters.
According to Corfo, Albemarle would not be fulfilling its obligation to offer up to 25% of its annual lithium production capacity – a key input in the electromobility industry – at a discount rate for companies seeking to produce battery materials in Chile. .
The lithium producer said a few weeks ago in a statement it made several price offers and believed it had fulfilled its obligations to the Chilean government.
Corfo has already clarified that the dispute with Albemarle would not jeopardize his right to produce lithium in the Salar de Atacama, one of the world's most desirable light metal deposits.
According to the government, the reduced rate agreed in the contract should be equal to the lower market price of lithium produced by the company and exported from Chile in the last six months, which would not be met, according to Corfo.
"According to the legal strategy and that we have as a state, we will know (in arbitration) the borders and the requests that will be known in their minute," Sichel said.
However, Chief Corfo stressed that the focus of the government is to promote the development of companies seeking to produce materials for batteries in Chile, so they hope that this litigation will be resolved in the shortest term.
"We want the companies to be installed as soon as possible and we expect Albemarle to approach the position we consider to be a benchmark price as specified in the contract," said the executive of the state agency.
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