An aerial view of the brine pools and processing areas of the Rockwood lithium plant on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. The South American country must get ready for a building second wave of lithium demand. Reuters
An aerial view of the brine pools and processing areas of the Rockwood lithium plant on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. The South American country must get ready for a building second wave of lithium demand. Reuters
An aerial view of the brine pools and processing areas of the Rockwood lithium plant on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. The South American country must get ready for a building second wave of lithium demand. Reuters
An aerial view of the brine pools and processing areas of the Rockwood lithium plant on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. The South American country must get ready for a b

Amid boardroom dramas, Chile must prepare for lithium wars part two


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What's happened to lithium?

What was last year's "next big thing" has been pushed out of the investor limelight by cobalt, another key metallic input to the electric vehicle (EV) revolution and one with an even more troubled supply profile.

Lithium prices have also been taking a breather after their meteoric rise over the 2015-2017 period. The lithium supply chain is currently absorbing a wave of new production, much of it coming from hard-rock miners in Australia. Some analysts are now forecasting a surplus of lithium over the next two years.

Fears of future shortfall, meanwhile, have been dampened by the prospect of much higher production in Chile, which sits on the world's lithium mother-lode in the form of the brine lakes in the Atacama Desert.

Chile was the world's largest lithium producer in 2016 and has the largest known reserves in the world, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

It also has ambitious plans to capitalise on its geological good fortune by building out a downstream processing and battery industry.

However, both Chilean aspirations and future global supply stability are beholden to a battle for control of the country's biggest producer, SQM.

The news on January 17 that SQM had received permission to lift its production capacity to 216,000 tonnes per year through 2025 sent a chill wind through the lithium investment space.

The Global X Lithium and Battery Tech exchange traded fund tumbled from over $40 to $35 in the following days. It has still not recovered its previous poise, last trading at $34.25. Never mind that SQM will take years to translate higher quotas into higher production. The news acted as a reality check that Chile has massively untapped lithium potential.

The announcement of higher production quotas was the result of a peace deal between SQM and Corfo, the Chilean government agency that licences and controls the country's lithium output. The two entities had been locked in an acrimonious stand-off for many years.

At one level the dispute was conventionally commercial, Corfo accusing SQM of underpaying royalties. At a more fundamental level it was about the role of one man, Julio Ponce, former SQM chairman and probably its largest shareholder.

"Probably" because SQM's own accounts refer to "Mr Julio Ponce Lerou and related persons" holding a 29.97 percent stake via three complex, intertwined investment vehicle chains. Just about any media reference to Julio Ponce includes the word "controversial". In a country still haunted by the years of military rule, the man who was General Pinochet's son-in-law and used that position to become first the government's representative on the SQM board and then its major shareholder in the privatisation process of the 1980s is, well, a controversial figure.

Moreover, by forming a shareholder coalition with Japan's Kowa Group, he has been accused, not least by Corfo, of running SQM as a private fiefdom.

SQM has over recent years been bombarded with allegations related to its corporate governance, part of a drawn-out war of attrition to wrest the company from Julio Ponce's control. A battle was won with last July's redrawing of the voting rights on the SQM board, effectively ending Julio Ponce's grip on board decisions.

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And the war seemed to be over with the January agreement between Corfo and SQM, the latter's increased quotas linked to "an obligation ... to strengthen its corporate governance", including the appointment of two independent directors.

Julio Ponce, however, seems in no mood to step quietly into the background. He and his brother Eugenio Ponce, also a former SQM chairman, have just been appointed as advisors to the board.

The appointments have not gone down well with the Chilean authorities, the country's finance minister Felipe Larrain describing them as "imprudent".

"We need to check whether it's a violation of the contract or the spirit of the contract from the government's point of view," he said, referring to the January deal with Corfo.

His pledge to "protect the interests of the Chilean state" is a sign that the interests of state and the country's foremost lithium producer are not yet conjoined.

Just to add extra spice to this board room drama is the presence of China's Tianqi Lithium, currently kicking its heels waiting for approval to buy a near quarter stake in SQM. The purchase of the stake from Canada's Nutrien must get the sign-off from Chile's National Economic Prosecutor's office, known by its Spanish initials FNE.

FNE is a small agency with just 115 staff and a current head prosecutor who is about to step down in August, which means a highly uncertain timeline before it approves the deal or launches a full investigation.

You won't see any impact of these convoluted Chilean politics on the lithium price.

There isn't, yet, an exchange-traded lithium contract through which investors can place their bets on the outcome of the Santiago stand-off. Rather, prices track physical supply-demand cycles, which means that right now the price of larger transactions is holding steady and the Chinese spot price is edging lower, according to Metal Bulletin. The Chinese average spot price last month was $21.38 per kilogram, down from over $26.00 at the end of last year.

The easier tone reflects the wave of new production coming from Australian producers and the processing adjustments needed to treat their hard-rock product, according to MB (Battery Raw Material Market Tracker, May 29, 2018). It is forecasting lithium supply to exceed demand both this year and next but expects limited downside to pricing. With no market of last resort to deliver to, excess material will simply be soaked up by an expanding battery supply chain. Because everyone now knows that the lithium story has only just begun and that the EV revolution is still only building momentum.

Supply has reacted, belatedly, to the first-wave demand impulse from battery-makers. It will need to react again as the second demand wave builds.

Chile has a starring role to play in that second act.

But if it is going to live up to its billing, it's going to have to sort out who really controls SQM.

PAKISTAN SQUAD

Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (test captain), Babar Azam (T20 captain), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah. 

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Pension support
  • Mental well-being assistance
  • Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
  • Financial well-being incentives 
RESULTS

1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m
Winner: Lady Parma, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m
Winner: Tabernas, Connor Beasley, Ahmed bin Harmash.
2.45pm: Handicap Dh95,000 1,200m
Winner: Night Castle, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh120,000 1,400m
Winner: Mystique Moon, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Mutawakked, Szczepan Mazur, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner: Tafaakhor, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner: Cranesbill, Fabrice Veron, Erwan Charpy.

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

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Aayan%E2%80%99s%20records
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Joe Root's Test record

Tests: 53; Innings: 98; Not outs: 11; Runs: 4,594; Best score: 254; Average: 52.80; 100s: 11; 50s: 27

Emirates exiles

Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.

Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.

Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.

Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.

A cryptocurrency primer for beginners

Cryptocurrency Investing  for Dummies – by Kiana Danial 

There are several primers for investing in cryptocurrencies available online, including e-books written by people whose credentials fall apart on the second page of your preferred search engine. 

Ms Danial is a finance coach and former currency analyst who writes for Nasdaq. Her broad-strokes primer (2019) breaks down investing in cryptocurrency into baby steps, while explaining the terms and technologies involved.

Although cryptocurrencies are a fast evolving world, this  book offers a good insight into the game as well as providing some basic tips, strategies and warning signs.

Begin your cryptocurrency journey here. 

Available at Magrudy’s , Dh104 

UAE SQUAD

 Khalid Essa (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Yousef Jaber (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalifa Al Hammadi (Jazira), Salem Rashid (Jazira), Shaheen Abdelrahman (Sharjah), Faris Juma (Al Wahda), Mohammed Shaker (Al Ain), Mohammed Barghash (Wahda), Abdulaziz Haikal (Shabab Al Ahli), Ahmed Barman (Al Ain), Khamis Esmail (Wahda), Khaled Bawazir (Sharjah), Majed Surour (Sharjah), Abdullah Ramadan (Jazira), Mohammed Al Attas (Jazira), Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Khalfan Mubarak (Jazira), Habib Fardan (Nasr), Khalil Ibrahim (Wahda), Ali Mabkhout (Jazira), Ali Saleh (Wasl), Caio (Al Ain), Sebastian Tagliabue (Nasr).

Where can I submit a sample?

Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.

Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:

  • Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
  • Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
  • Al Towayya in Al Ain
  • NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
  • Bareen International Hospital
  • NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
  • NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
  • NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

RACE CARD

6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,200m

7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,900m

7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 2,000m

8.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,600m

8.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m

9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m

PROFILE OF SWVL

Started: April 2017

Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport

Size: 450 employees

Investment: approximately $80 million

Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo

Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000

Engine: 5.6-litre V8

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm

Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

Results

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: RB Kings Bay, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)

7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: AF Ensito, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash

8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: AF Sourouh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

8.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Baaher, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel

9pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Mootahady, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel

9.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Dubai Canal, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

10pm: Al Ain Cup – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Harrab, Bernardo Pinheiro, Majed Al Jahouri