Chile and Germany deepen cooperation on lithium, steel and mining sustainability

During his visit to Germany, Chile's President Gabriel Boric committed to cooperation in the energy, green steel and lithium sectors.

Boric is traveling Europe to strengthen commercial and political ties. He arrived in Stockholm on Wednesday night and is accompanied by energy minister Diego Pardow, the chairman of state miner Codelco, Máximo Pacheco, and other business representatives.

During a Tuesday meeting with Germany's Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, Boric discussed the national lithium strategy and cooperation on environmental, energy and raw materials issues, according to a Chilean government press release.

Boric also highlighted that Chile offers the private sector opportunities to form alliances with the State and develop projects. At a recent business conference in Santiago, he said, “we want to double lithium production within 10 years.”

“Germany has a stock of investments in Chile of more than US$1 billion and played a relevant role in the modernization of the advanced framework agreement with the European Union,” the release said.

This agreement is currently analyzed by the foreign relations and finance committees of Chile's lower house.

Codelco-Wismut agreement

Codelco and German state company Wismut signed an agreement under which they will form a working committee and exchange experiences regarding the management of mining site closures, soil restitution and sustainability, Codelco said in a statement.

Wismut operates in the states of Saxony and Thuringia and specializes in the dismantling of mines and rehabilitation of territories, as well as water treatment and environmental monitoring.

Originally an uranium producer, Wismut was created in 1947 in the Soviet-occupied sector. It was a major economic player in the GDR and turned the country into the world's fourth largest uranium supplier until it was restructured after reunification in 1990.

“In its 30 years of experience in mine closure, [Wismut] has accumulated an investment of over US$7bn,” the statement said.

Green steel for Siderúrgica Huachipato

During the trip, officials of Siderúrgica Huachipato, belonging to CAP, Chilean development agency Corfo, Germany's economy and climate action ministry and SMS Group signed an MOU to promote green steel.

SMS, a leader in decarbonization projects in the metals industry, will provide know-how and part of its intellectual property for the development of sustainable steel technologies.

Pictured: Codelco-Wismut agreement signing