Mining 2026

CHILE Trends and Developments Contributed by: José Manuel and Felipe Curia, CoyC Minería y Regulación

as companies and investors interested in participating in the lithium industry. As a result of this process, 12 areas with high eco - nomic interest for lithium exploitation were identified. These areas are to be enabled through special lithium operation contracts ( contratos especiales de oper- ación de liti o; CEOL), the legal instrument through which the public-private partnerships required for the development of such projects are structured. To date, four simplified procedures aimed at granting CEOLs have been opened for interested parties that meet the established requirements, including experi - ence in the mining industry, sufficient financial sol - vency and ownership of at least 80% of the mining concessions covering the area of interest. Through these procedures, the entry of new participants into the lithium market has been facilitated, and it is esti - mated that the first CEOLs arising from these process - es could be awarded during the first quarter of 2026. Finally, one of the most significant milestones of 2025 was the execution of the agreement between SQM and Codelco, which provided continuity and a long- term horizon for the country’s most important lithium project. This agreement will allow the operation of the so-called Salar Futuro project through 2060, with an estimated annual production of between 280,000 and 300,000 tonnes of LCE. Binational Mining Treaty With Argentina The Treaty on Mining Integration and Complemen - tation between Chile and Argentina, signed on 29 December 1997 and in force since 2000, constitutes a strategic and exceptional bilateral legal instrument aimed at facilitating the development of mining activi - ties in border areas through the establishment of a special regime of co-operation and sectoral integra - tion.

Its primary purpose is to provide legal certainty and regulatory stability for cross-border mining invest - ments, through specific rules designed to enable the implementation of binational projects. To this end, the Treaty regulates key matters related to the move - ment of goods, personnel, services and associated infrastructure, and promotes the co-ordination of administrative, customs, tax and sectoral authorities of both states, thereby ensuring a sufficient degree of regulatory compatibility for projects developed under its framework. From this perspective, the Treaty opens significant opportunities for binational mining integration, as it allows for the optimisation of con - tiguous geological resources and enhances project competitiveness through the development of shared cross-border infrastructure, particularly with respect to roads and mountain passes, energy, logistics and port access, and – at a more advanced stage – even the potential use of seawater as a source for project development. In the recent context, characterised by processes of integration and consolidation among major players in the mining industry, this instrument has consolidated itself as a suitable legal framework for structuring large-scale corporate alliances, as evidenced by the partnership between BHP and Lundin Mining in the development of the Vicuña District and the Filo del Sol project. Nevertheless, the effective materialisation of the ben - efits associated with the Treaty requires addressing significant regulatory and institutional challenges, par - ticularly with regard to the harmonisation and co-ordi - nation of sectoral permitting procedures, the align - ment of environmental standards, and the design of a robust binational governance framework that incor - porates environmental and social sustainability criteria as a cross-cutting requirement, which is essential to ensure the legitimacy and long-term viability of this type of development.

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