“Codelco, SQM to talk with Chile’s indigenous communities on lithium” – December 18, 2023

… Codelco, a Chilean state-owned copper producer, and lithium mining company SQM have agreed to establish roundtable discussions with representatives of indigenous communities… These talks with the local communities will help establish a guarantee for sustainability of the ecosystem, within the framework of the country’s National Lithium Strategy…

… They are taking place between Codelco and SQM for the lease of the Salar de Atacama lithium project… Codelco and SQM claim that the roundtable will recognise international treaties signed and ratified by the Chilean Government. Among them is Convention 169 of the International Labour Organisation…

… It is related to indigenous peoples and tribal rights, the convention on biological diversity, the international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination and the US convention on human rights… In the coming weeks, representatives from Codelco, SQM and the communities jointly plan to develop a common scheme for the roundtable and establish procedures and principles for early participation, with transparent access to information…