Chile prepares private sector contracts for lithium projects in Salar de Llamara

Trafalgar Holding U.S.A. has 40,927 Hectors  to offer at this location for Serious Vetted buyers.

Chile’s ministry of Mining has submitted to the comptroller general’s office a decree establishing the conditions for awarding a special lithium operating contract (Ceol) to a private consortium seeking to develop a project in the Quillagua Este sector, at the Llamara salt flat in Antofagasta Region.

The initiative, led by the consortium comprising Wealth Minerals, Minera Aspromin, Inversiones Valeska Minerals and Alto Exploradora, is located within the Quillagua Este polygon, which covers a total of 44,927 hectares.

The group holds 131 exploration mining concessions with preemptive rights covering 38,125 hectares, representing 84.8% coverage of mining concessions within the area prioritized by the government, according to Aspromin data.

To access a Ceol in Chile through a simplified process and without participating in a public bidding, a company or private entity must hold at least 80% of the mining concessions within a defined polygon. In addition, it must demonstrate financial capacity and experience in mining or in one of the segments of the lithium value chain.

The Quillagua Este plan joins the project led by the Llamara Group in Quillagua Norte, which aims to extract lithium clays and other elements in the area located between the Antofagasta and Tarapacá regions.

The decree for Quillagua Norte was sent to the comptroller’s office in September, along with another for the Quillagua Sur sector, which is reserved by the ministry of mining for an operator to be selected through a public tender.

The Llamara Salt Flat is attracting interest from private investors as it houses a deposit of magnesium clays, lithium, and other minerals of high geological and commercial interest, at an altitude of just 850 meters above sea level.

“The company and the consortium expressed their agreement with the terms and conditions of the contracts”, said mining minister Aurora Williams in a statement. 

Communities and exploration

As part of the process, the ministry completed a dialogue process with indigenous communities in August, which was divided into three stages: Quillagua East, Quillagua North, and Quillagua South.

After four months of talks, which addressed issues such as geographic delimitation and financial compensation, the process concluded with 24 agreements. 

Canada’s Wealth Minerals, which holds a 3% stake in the consortium, is eager to unlock the Quillagua Este project, located just 120km from its Kuska project. It will provide strategic advice, Wealth said in a statement mid-year.

Quillagua Este does not have resource studies, so exploratory work still needs to be carried out in the sector that is characterized by containing surface levels of clays rich in elements of commercial interest and deposits of non-marine evaporite minerals, such as halite and salts.

According to Aspromin, there are outcrops of mineralized layers in the area, even on the slopes of adjacent hills. 

This aspect could be a favorable factor amidst the complexities of hydrogeological exploration.