Chile's Enami progressing with lithium project and smelter modernization

Despite financial problems, Chile’s state minerals company Enami is pushing ahead with its development plan with projects such as Salares Altoandinos and the modernization of the Hernán Videla Lira copper smelter/refinery, both in northern Atacama region.

Under the national lithium strategy, state copper giant Codelco and Enami will receive special operating contracts (CEOLs) to extract lithium under public-private partnerships.

For this purpose, the Enami Litio subsidiary was created to manage the US$1.5bn Altoandinos project that comprises the La Isla, Aguilar, Las Parinas, Infieles and Grande salt flats.

Basic exploration revealed “a resource potential of about 1.7Mt of metallic lithium, which if we consider lithium carbonate would be 9Mt. The salt flats with the greatest geological potential are Aguilar and La Isla, the latter with grades of up to 1,080ppm at a depth of around 27m,” said Nicolás Pacheco, manager of Enami Litio, at a conference hosted by consultancy firm Vostock Capital.

Meanwhile, the maximum grades in the Aguilar salt flat were 814ppm, making the place “one of the most attractive areas in the country to develop a lithium project,” according to Pacheco.

Enami has already requested a CEOL from the mining ministry, and has an advanced preliminary environmental study, he said. Additionally, the unit is looking into direct extraction technologies.

“We have reviewed about 38 technologies, signed confidentiality agreements with different companies and we’re advancing in the exhaustive review to carry out laboratory tests with the brines, understanding that each brine can react differently to the technologies,” said Pacheco.

Meanwhile, the company is analyzing strategic alliances and to this end has held meetings with government officials, mining companies, technology developers, battery component manufacturers and consumers in the field of electromobility, he added.

Enami has a 10% stake in the Quebrada Blanca and Carmen de Andacollo copper mines operated by Canada’s Teck, and carried out initial exploration at what eventually became the Los Pelambres copper of Antofagasta Minerals. The company’s main role is to support small and medium-sized copper miners, including treating their ore.

Hernán Videla Lira (FHVL)

The strategy to strengthen smelting and refining capacity in Chile, launched by the mining ministry, indicates that Enami must lead the modernization of the FHVL smelter/refinery, which is also known as Paipote after its location. The aim is to transform the plant into a modern, profitable smelter with high environmental standards.

Currently, Enami has an environmental impact study underway that it hopes to submit to the evaluation review system in November, according to a statement.

Its CEO Iván Mlynarz announced in recent days a staff reorganization, incorporating engineers and construction experts to coordinate feasibility studies.

Lidia Espinoza, sustainability engineer at Enami, told BNamericas that “we have a series of permits to process… the technologies for this project seek to comply with the CO2 regulations in Chile, and also involve technological improvements in the refinery area."

“When small miners go to the bank to request financial support, they are turned down. It is Enami that provides financing to small mining, and we are also in the exploration, feasibility, project preparation, extraction, processing and marketing stages, and involved in environmental and safety issues,” Mlynarz told the Vostock event.

With a portfolio of 42 prospects, Enami has its sights on expanding its presence.

"We are looking for the necessary investments to explore and advance in the different stages that are required in the mining business," Antonio Videka, head of mining development at the state firm, told another event.