Grassroots or astroturf? Only the protesters (and/or paymasters) know for sure.*
From OilPrice, January 15:
- Chile's SQM has announced that it has suspended operations at the Atacama salt flat due to widespread protests by an indigenous community.
- Local groups have taken to the streets demanding to be included in talks between SQM and the government.
- Some Indigenous leaders are open to supporting lithium extraction at a fair price.
....MUCH MOREChile’s lithium mining giant, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A (NYSE:SQM), has announced that it has suspended operations at the Atacama salt flat due to widespread protests by an indigenous community. About 500 protesters of the indigenous Toconao community have blocked six different spots on public roads in the southern area of the salt flat, the world's largest lithium deposit, disrupting the movement of workers and mining equipment. Local groups have taken to the streets demanding to be included in talks between SQM and the government, claiming they were sidelined in an agreement that was recently signed between SQM and state-run copper firm Codelco. Chile is home to the world's largest lithium reserves, 90% of which are in the Atacama desert.
Chile's millennial President Gabriel Boric has unveiled plans to nationalize the country’s lithium sector in a bid to boost the economy and protect biodiversity. Boric has pledged to achieve this by pioneering environmentally-friendly technology as well as engaging personally in talks with local Indigenous communities. He envisions expanding mining with public-private partnerships controlled by a new state lithium company. The Chilean government has opened negotiations with SQM for state control and plans to do so with Albemarle before its contract expires in 2043....
*I don't mean to be all conspiratorial about this but I'm getting a bit of a Roșia Montană vibe.
