Chilean lawmakers study extra tax for copper, lithium mines

Chile's congress is studying a proposal for an additional royalty payment for copper and lithium miners operating in the country to bolster the development of the regions around their deposits, according to a draft seen by Reuters. The initiative, which was put forward by opposition legislators from mining areas and does not have government backing, proposes a 3% tax on the nominal value of extracted metals and would apply to copper miners producing more than 12 000 t/y of copper and 50 000 t of lithium.