Chile will use three different business models to expand its lithium production that it estimates could increase by 70pc by 2030 and 100pc over the next decade, finance minister Mario Marcel said. Chile is the world's second-largest lithium producer with an estimated output in 2023 of 234,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), according to US Geological Survey data. The first model announced late on Tuesday envisages public-private alliances, with the state holding a majority share, in two salt lakes that have been defined as strategic: Atacama in the Antofagasta region and Maricunga in the Atacama region. ... (full story)