Lithium in Chile: between strategic opportunity and regulatory uncertainty

Chile holds the world's largest lithium reserves and a legal regime that forbids concessioning them. That tension — abundant resource, restricted access — shapes everything a foreign investor needs to understand before sitting down at the table. It is not an insurmountable obstacle. It is a structure, and structures can be navigated once they are understood.

The base rule has not changed since 1979

In Chile, lithium is a non-concessible resource under Decree Law 2,886. No one can apply for a lithium concession the way they would for copper. There are three ways in, and only three:

• Direct state participation in the company that exploits the resource.
• A mandate to a state company — today Codelco and ENAMI — which then seeks private partners.
• A Special Lithium Operation Contract (CEOL), granted by decree and negotiated case by case, with specific terms, duration and royalties.

The 2023 National Lithium Strategy organised that scheme rather than replacing it: it placed state companies at the front of the salt flats deemed strategic, opened the rest to competitive processes, and created a network of protected salt flats where no extraction will occur. That network was expanded through further announcements in January 2026.

What has closed: the Codelco–SQM partnership

The decade's most significant transaction has cleared its regulatory stage. The partnership between Codelco and SQM to operate the Salar de Atacama obtained competition clearances across multiple jurisdictions — the European Union, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Chile's own antitrust authority — and in November 2025 received conditional approval from the Chinese regulator, the last of the major ones. Chile's Nuclear Energy Commission separately authorised Codelco's subsidiary to extract lithium at the salt flat.

Publicly disclosed terms commit to an increase of roughly 300,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent between 2025 and 2030, and then a range of 280,000 to 300,000 tonnes per year from 2031 to 2060. For the market, that means Chile's largest source of supply is now defined for two and a half decades. For an investor arriving today, it means the Salar de Atacama is not the opportunity: the opportunity lies in the other salt flats and downstream.

What changed in 2026, and what did not

The government that took office on 11 March 2026 brought a distinctly pro-investment tone: it merged the economy and mining portfolios so that growth, permitting and mining policy answer to a single command, launched a dedicated office in January 2026 to accelerate non-environmental sectoral authorisations, and published a second edition of the guide for salt-flat lithium projects in February.

What did not change is the model. Lithium remains non-concessible, state companies keep their leading role, the protected salt flats policy stands, and CEOLs are still granted by decree. An investor who reads the change of government as a liberalisation of the regime will be wrong; one who reads it as an improvement in administrative execution will be right.

The four risks to structure for

1. Access risk. Finding brine is not enough: ownership and validity of the area's concessions, their territorial continuity, and whether the salt flat sits inside the protected network all need verification.
2. Water risk. Brine and freshwater are governed by different regimes and both are under strain. This is almost always the variable that determines whether a project is viable at all.
3. Consultation and community risk. Northern salt flats are inhabited. Indigenous consultation is not a late-stage formality: it is a design condition from day one.
4. Political and horizon risk. A CEOL is a contract with the State that will span several administrations. Corporate structuring, jurisdiction and investment-treaty coverage belong in the financial analysis, not in a legal footnote.

Frequently asked questions

Can you obtain a lithium concession in Chile?

No. Lithium remains a non-concessible resource under Decree Law 2,886. Access happens through direct state participation, a mandate to state companies such as Codelco or ENAMI, or a Special Lithium Operation Contract (CEOL).

Did lithium policy change under the new government?

The tone changed, the model did not. Since March 2026 the government has merged the economy and mining portfolios and accelerated permitting, but lithium remains non-concessible, state companies keep their leading role, and the protected salt flats policy stands.

What is required to apply for a simplified CEOL?

Among other requirements, control of at least 80% of the mining concessions in the requested area, plus demonstrated technical and financial capacity to develop the project.

Sources: Decree Law 2,886; National Lithium Strategy, Ministry of Mining; public communications on the Codelco–SQM partnership and its regulatory clearances (2025–2026); analysis of the lithium regime under the current administration. This article is general information, not legal advice.