Chilean mining companies Codelco and SQM are dedicating a $3 billion budget to their joint venture, Nova Andino Litio SpA, for a lithium project in the Atacama Desert. The investment aims to deploy new extraction technologies to boost lithium output. The venture plans to submit an environmental impact study to regulators in June for this project, dubbed Salar Futuro, with commercial operations for direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies advancing.
SQM's first quarter of 2026 saw robust performance in its lithium businesses, with the company preparing to achieve an annual production close to 300,000 metric tons of lithium. The Nova Andino venture, focusing on sustainable expansion in the Salar de Atacama, expects final approval for Salar Futuro in 2029, with investment commencing in 2030. In Q1 2026, Nova Andino's average commercial sales price increased almost 95% year-on-year, leading to total revenue of $1.76 billion, a 70% increase from the same period in 2025. The company's net profit, largely driven by lithium, reached $365 million in Q1 2026.
Nova Andino Litio SpA is already operating at full capacity and calibrating its chemical plant to expand installed capacity, aiming for 100,000 tons per annum of lithium hydroxide from 2026 and up to 240,000 tons per annum of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) by 2028. The venture produced 233,000 metric tons of LCE in 2025, slightly exceeding forecasts. The project involves a gradual transition from traditional evaporation to DLE and other advanced techniques like nano-filtration and mechanical evaporation, with full implementation extending into the mid-2030s, eventually ending freshwater extraction.
