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Chemical and Mining Company (NYSE: MQ) said on Wednesday it had agreed to call an extraordinary shareholders meeting at the request of Tianqi Lithium, its second largest shareholder, which is seeking more clarity on a proposed deal with state-owned Chilean copper giant Codelco.
THE The meeting scheduled for April 24 – the second of its kind in as many months – will see Tianqi push for a vote on any ties with Codelco.
While SQM (SQM) said it would provide an update on the negotiations and answer questions, the company reiterated that the deal only requires board approval.
At stake is a deal that would allow SQM (SQM) to increase lithium production; if it is demolished, the capital may have to shut down mining operations when its current contract expires in 2030.
China’s Tianqi, which has faced restrictions on SQM’s (SQM) most sensitive information since it bought its stake in 2018, says it was given insufficient information about the deal.