Chile Lithium Share Falls to 19.4 Percent as Rivals Grow

CHILE · MINING

Chile lithium was 19.4 percent of world mine production in 2025, down from about 26 percent in 2020. Chile is digging more. Its rivals are digging far more.

Chile mined 56,000 tonnes of lithium in 2025, up 14.5 percent on the year before. Chile lithium was still only 19.4 percent of world mine production, down from about 26 percent in 2020.

The ponds are fuller and the slice is thinner

Chile is not mining less lithium. Its salt flats gave up 48,900 tonnes in 2024 and 56,000 tonnes in 2025.

The rest of the world simply moved faster. World output grew 29.3 percent that year, against Chile’s 14.5 percent.

That gap is the whole story. Chile grew, and the world grew twice as fast.

Five years earlier the arithmetic flattered Chile. It took 21,500 tonnes out of a world total of 82,585 tonnes, about 26 percent.

By 2025 the world total had reached 288,380 tonnes. Chile’s 56,000 tonnes came to 19.4 percent of it.

The numbers belong to Cochilco, the Chilean state copper commission, and CNN Chile reported them. Cochilco counts tonnes lifted out of the ground, not exports, refining or sales.

China walked past Chile

China lifted its own output 49.8 percent in 2025, to 62,000 tonnes. That carried it past Chile.

Plusmining, a mining research firm, marked the change in February 2026. Chile had dropped to third place.

Australia stayed first, with 92,000 tonnes. Argentina and Zimbabwe are adding tonnes quickly behind them.

BNamericas puts Argentina’s growth above 120 percent for 2026. That is a forecast from one research house, not a recorded result.

More rock, less money

Cheap lithium did the rest. The United States Geological Survey found producers cutting output or delaying projects through 2025.

That agency belongs to the United States government and tracks world mineral supply. Its February 2026 report carries the 2025 estimates.

Chile felt the price in cash. Lithium export earnings fell from US$2.52 billion in 2024 to US$2.18 billion in 2025.

So the volume rose and the value fell. Cheaper lithium more than cancelled out the extra tonnes.

Inside Chile’s mining exports, lithium shrank as well. Its share of that basket went from 8.9 percent in 2022 to 2 percent in 2025.

What a Chilean salt flat actually is

Chilean lithium comes out of salt flats called salares. Brine rich in lithium is pumped up and left to evaporate in the sun.

The Salar de Atacama in the north does most of the work. Two companies hold ground there.

SQM is a private Chilean chemicals company that has worked the flat for years. Codelco is the state-owned copper giant.

Under the National Lithium Strategy, Codelco was told to partner with SQM. The pair formed a company called NovaAndino Litio.

Codelco holds 50 percent plus one share. SQM keeps management control until 2030, and Codelco takes over from 2031.

The partnership is meant to keep the Atacama producing through 2060. Both companies have said so.

Albemarle works the same flat under a contract with Corfo, the state development agency, running to 2043. Together the two operations made 311,300 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent in 2025.

Lithium carbonate equivalent is the industry’s standard unit for finished lithium.

The waiting rooms

Projects in Chile move at the speed of paperwork. Miners and investors have asked the new Kast government to award contracts faster.

Reuters reported the request. No new rules have followed, and it stays a wish from industry.

Rio Tinto’s two Chilean lithium deals have slipped. Econosur reported in August 2026 that both closings moved to late 2026 or early 2027.

Those are deal closings, not mine closures. Regulatory approvals and other conditions were still pending.

One project slipped much further. BNamericas reported in July 2026 that Codelco had pushed first lithium from Maricunga to 2034.

The earlier target was 2030. Four years is enough time for a rival country to open a mine.

What a foreign investor is actually buying

The law firm Gibson Dunn tells clients to expect the state-led model to stay. Access to lithium runs through special contracts with the state.

Projects also carry heavy environmental review and consultation with Indigenous communities. Gibson Dunn writes that the Kast government sounds friendlier to investors.

The framework was set in 2023. It aims to lift output while the state keeps a majority in strategic projects.

Private capital is welcome, usually as the minority partner. The state sets the rules, and the permits set the pace.

For an investor the question is not whether Chile has lithium. It is how long a project waits between approval and first production.

What to watch

Watch whether the new government speeds up contract awards. Industry has asked, and nothing has changed yet.

Watch 2030 and 2031, the years that hand NovaAndino Litio from SQM to Codelco. Watch Argentina, which is adding tonnes fastest.

Watch the price, because cheap lithium is what stalled projects in the first place. If projects arrive on time, the Chile lithium share can steady.

If they slip again, the slide from 26 percent to 19.4 percent has further to run. Cochilco has not published a figure for 2026.

That number arrives with the next yearbook. Until then Chile is third, and climbing back is a matter of permits, not geology.

More: Chile news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Chile still the world’s biggest lithium producer?

No. Australia is first, China second, and Chile third on 2025 mine production.

Why is Chile’s lithium market share falling?

Chile’s own output is rising. Australia, China and Argentina are simply adding tonnes faster.

Who mines lithium in Chile?

SQM and Albemarle work the Salar de Atacama. Codelco, the state copper company, is now SQM’s partner in a venture called NovaAndino Litio.

What is the Salar de Atacama?

A salt flat in northern Chile. Lithium-rich brine is pumped to the surface there and left to evaporate.

Sources: Sources: CNN Chile (Cochilco yearbook), Plusmining, USGS, Reuters, BNamericas, Econosur, Codelco, Gibson Dunn. https://www.cnnchile.com/negocios/chile-pierde-terreno-carrera-litio-participacion-mundial-cayo-26-a-194/ https://plusmining.com/en/2026/02/27/china-overtakes-chile-as-the-worlds-third-largest-lithium-producer-as-industry-growth-lags/ https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-lithium.pdf https://www.reuters.com/world/china/lithium-bulls-set-gatecrash-chiles-copper-party-2026-04-10/ https://www.bnamericas.com/en/features/codelco-delays-to-2034-lithium-from-salar-de-maricunga-with-rio-tinto-in-chile https://www.bnamericas.com/en/analysis/argentinas-lithium-boom-set-to-top-120-growth-in-2026-putting-chiles-crown-on-the-line https://econosur.org/insights/chile/lithium/ https://www.codelco.com/en/prensa/2025/codelco-y-sqm-forman-novaandino-litio-la-sociedad-conjunta-para-el https://www.gibsondunn.com/chiles-lithium-regime-under-president-kast-pro-investment-tone-but-the-state-centric-model-still-governs/