Chile Awards $5.8 Million to Advance Direct Lithium Extraction and Rare Earth Recovery Technologies
Chile’s state-owned development agency, Corfo, has awarded up to $5.8 million in funding to two research and development projects focused on direct lithium extraction (DLE) and rare earth element recovery, as part of efforts to strengthen mining innovation and create new, high-value business lines.
The first project will receive up to $1.9 million over a period of up to two years to identify, assess, and validate DLE technologies suitable for brines from Chile’s salt flats and saline lagoons.
The initiative aims to design a dedicated testing platform and generate early-stage technical evidence under real Chilean operating conditions.
A second project has been allocated up to $3.9 million over three years to develop sustainable solutions for the recovery of rare earth elements. This initiative will test both leaching and bioleaching processes under the supervision of the same piloting centre.
According to Corfo, Chile holds at least 46,000 tonnes of vanadium, 16,000 tonnes of cobalt, and several hundred tonnes of rare earth elements contained in mining liabilities, including tailings, waste dumps, and slags. Recovering value from these materials has therefore become a strategic national priority.
Lithium Momentum
Both initiatives fall under Corfo’s R&D Challenges programme, launched more than a year ago, which co-finances up to 80 per cent of total project costs using funds generated from leasing mining concessions in the Salar de Atacama.
Corfo noted that the programme supports a circular economy approach by transforming environmental liabilities into economic assets through advanced reprocessing technologies.
The funding comes amid accelerating lithium sector activity in Chile. Late last year, state-owned copper producer Codelco and lithium miner SQM agreed to establish Nova Andino Litio, a joint venture that will operate in the Atacama Salt Flat until 2060.
The partnership will consolidate lithium exploration, production, and marketing under existing and future contracts with Corfo.
In parallel, Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) completed testing of its proprietary DLE technology in Chile in December, reporting lithium recovery rates exceeding 94 per cent after more than 3,000 hours of pilot operations, alongside water reuse levels of up to 85 per cent.
The company invested $30 million in the pilot plant and an additional $216 million in a salt recovery facility in Atacama.
While industry experts consider DLE technologies to be potentially more efficient and environmentally sustainable than conventional lithium extraction methods, they have yet to be proven at full commercial scale in Chile.
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