Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday (March 12) that Chile and the United States have signed a bilateral agreement to initiate negotiations on cooperation regarding rare earth and other key minerals.
According to a report from Reuters, a joint statement stated that the first meeting will take place within the next two weeks. Potential areas of cooperation include public and private financing of mining projects, management of mineral waste recovery, and exploring new projects to increase the mineral supply of both countries.
The Trump administration has been committed to reducing reliance on China in critical minerals, which are widely used in electric vehicles, semiconductors, defense systems, and consumer electronics.
Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and the second-largest lithium producer, but the country relies on imports for other minerals.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau told the media in Chile that the U.S. and Chile have many things they can do to “strengthen the supply chain of these minerals.”
“We will explore how to carry out cooperation,” Landau added.
Landau’s visit to Chile came as the country’s conservative president, Jose Antonio Kast, was sworn in on Wednesday (March 11).
Kast is often compared to Chile’s version of Trump for proposing border closures and the deportation of about 300,000 illegal immigrants. He has promised to make Chile great again.
In the presence of Kast, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Landau and Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Perez Mackenna signed the agreement in Santiago.
Albemarle, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been producing lithium in the Atacama region of northern Chile for over 50 years, making it the world’s largest lithium producer. Albemarle has not yet commented on the cooperation between the U.S. and Chile to the media.
EnergyX, a lithium technology startup company based in Puerto Rico and supported by General Motors, plans to build a lithium plant worth $1.1 billion in Chile, with production set to start in 2028 and an eventual annual output of 50,000 tons.
Teague Egan, CEO of EnergyX, stated, “Kast signed a framework agreement with the U.S. on his first day in office, which is a good start.” Egan met with Kast at the “Shield of the Americas” summit held in Miami on March 7.