Nova Andino Litio SpA, the new joint venture between Codelco and SQM to develop lithium production in Chile’s Atacama Salt Flat, has held its first board meeting, signalling a shift from negotiation to implementation. The board comprises Codelco representatives Máximo Pacheco M, Josefina Montenegro A and Alfredo Moreno Ch, alongside SQM’s Ricardo Ramos. For project engineers, this formal governance structure clears the way for detailed planning of brine extraction, evaporation pond layouts and processing capacity expansions in one of the world’s highest-grade lithium salars.

Silver plunged nearly 10% from a record $83.63/oz to the low $70s on Monday, its steepest intraday fall since 2021, after a month-long 40% surge driven by Chinese investment demand and Shanghai spot premiums exceeding $8/oz over London. Despite the pullback, silver is still up 148% in 2025 and briefly reached a market capitalisation above Nvidia’s $4.55 trillion, with its 14-day RSI easing to about 67 after three weeks above the overbought 70 threshold. Gold also retreated more than 4.5% from a record $4,543.51/oz, though it remains up nearly 75% year to date.

Copper prices briefly surged towards $13,000/t on the LME on Monday, with a 6.6% intraday jump, while CME March futures in New York swung from a $5.92/lb peak to $5.56/lb, a 6% plunge that erased Friday’s gains. The metal is up about 35% in 2025 as US tariff fears on copper under President Trump drive front‑loaded imports, even as Chinese demand softens and mine disruptions at Grasberg, Kamoa‑Kakula and El Teniente constrain supply. BloombergNEF projects energy‑transition demand could triple by 2045, risking market deficits from 2026 and potential shortages of up to 19 Mt by 2050 without major new projects and recycling.