Chilean mining and chemical company (SQM.US) and Codelco joint venture's 2025 lithium production slightly exceeds expectations

Zhìtōng Finance APP has learned that as the global oversupply situation gradually eases, Chilean mining and chemical company SQM (SQM.US) and Codelco, Chile’s state-owned copper producer, saw lithium production from their joint project slightly above previous forecasts last year. It is reported that their joint venture NovaAndino Litio SpA produced 233,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent in 2025, exceeding the 2024 level and slightly above the latest guidance of “close to 230,000 tons” provided by SQM in November last year.

Codelco holds a controlling stake in NovaAndino’s lithium assets, while SQM is responsible for operations across the vast Atacama salt flats in northern Chile. NovaAndino owns the world’s largest salt lake brine lithium resource. The company is betting on its low-cost advantage and optimistic outlook for battery demand, expanding capacity with a target to increase output by about 30% in the coming years. NovaAndino CEO Carlos Díaz stated last month that annual production would gradually rise to 300,000 tons by the end of this decade.

The joint venture aims to capitalize on the double-digit growth in global lithium consumption. With increasing demand for large-scale energy storage batteries and electric vehicles, lithium consumption is expected to continue expanding. This expansion could put pressure on high-cost competitors. The Atacama project uses evaporation methods for extraction, which consume less water, chemicals, and energy compared to the mainstream hard-rock mining methods in Australia. NovaAndino is preparing to submit plans to regulators to introduce new technologies, including direct lithium extraction, to further boost production.

Meanwhile, NovaAndino Chairman Máximo Pacheco stated that Codelco’s lithium project in Maricunga, in partnership with Rio Tinto (RIO.US), is still awaiting antitrust approval before the shareholder agreement can be signed. He also mentioned that last year, Codelco produced 1.33 million tons of copper from its Chilean mines, with capital expenditures reaching a record $5.28 billion. He added that due to the scale and complexity, regulatory work for Codelco’s underground copper mine El Teniente (which experienced a fatal collapse last July) will be incorporated into the company’s executive committee, with support from an independent consulting firm.