Twelve companies from seven countries have applied to manufacture lithium-linked products in Chile, officials told journalists on Monday, in what they called a victory for the mining country’s push to add value to its exports. Chile is part of South America’s “lithium triangle,” home to more than half the known global reserves of the mineral, which plays an essential part in powering electric car batteries. But only abroad is lithium developed into products consumers can use, a fact Chile’s government wants to change.
