Chile’s state mining company Codelco has reportedly reached a deal with SQM, Chile’s largest lithium mining company, to exploit the country’s salt flats in the Atacama desert. The two companies will sign a joint development agreement between their subsidiaries Minera Tarar and SQM Salar respectively, which will replace SQM’s current agreement with the Chilean economic development agency (Corfo), which was set to expire in 2030. The agreement will see Codelco’s subsidiary take a majority stake in the project, a significant positive development for the country’s goals as its policy to take larger stakes in its domestic mineral projects becomes material for the first time. The agreement set to commence in 2025 will last through to 2060, with Codelco taking control…