Chile’s antitrust regulator FNE has launched a probe into Tianqi’s recent acquisition of a stake in Chemical and Mining Society (SQM), the world’s second largest lithium producer, to determine the possible effects on the market.
Chinese miner Tianqi Lithium, the Asian nation’s largest producer of the white metal, purchase last month a 24% stake in Chile’s SQM from Canada’s Nutrien (TSX:NTR), further expanding Beijing’s increasing hold over the market for the key component needed in the making of batteries that power electric vehicles.
“In our investigation, the FNE will seek to verify, or dismiss, whether anti-competitive risks in Chile … are plausible, and of a magnitude that makes them relevant,” the regulator said in the statement (in Spanish).
The sale process, which ended earlier than anticipated, was plagued with controversy. In March, Chile’s development agency Corfo filed a complaint to block Tianqi from acquiring the stake in SQM, arguing that such move would give China an unfair advantage in the global race to secure resources to develop electric vehicles.
Source: Mining.com
