What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The team experienced significant legal challenges last year. Albemarle is a company with robust growth in Chile in the lithium industry, and therefore, we have been involved in a wide range of issues of relevance to the company, such as national and international arbitrations, environmental litigation, and development of large capital projects. We are also very excited to be part of the team in charge of the development of Antofalla mining project in Argentina.

In addition, the team has been involved in an important volume of commercial transactions, as well as supporting our operations and projects in several key initiatives, overseeing governance within the business.

Recently, in Chile, there have been significant legal and regulatory developments in many aspects, especially on ESG. The increased regulatory burden potentially increases a company’s legal risk profile as well as the costs and complexity of compliance. In the constant need to adapt to a changing legal environment, we are preparing for the implementation of the Economic Crimes and Offenses against the Environment law.

All these challenges have been addressed by a diverse legal team applying the developments and lessons learned after the pandemic, which allow us to work with greater flexibility and support working parents.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

In-house lawyers can build strong relationships with business partners and mitigate but also take reasonable risks to fully support and help the business grow while protecting the company and its values.

To achieve this objective, it is necessary for a legal function to be viewed as a trusted advisor and partner to the business, finding solutions while ensuring compliance and protecting the business against major risks. It is very important to understand the business and its needs, and for this reason, it is critical to stay connected with our business partners to ensure that their needs are properly covered by breaking down silos and fostering collaboration across different functions.

If existent, can you talk about you or your company’s efforts relating to renewability, sustainability or other environmentally friendly activities?

Albemarle is one of the largest lithium producers in the world, a pioneer in the development of the lithium industry in Chile, with a presence spanning over 40 years. Today, how we produce lithium is as important as how much, and that is why we are taking concrete steps towards the development of a new lithium era.

With this vision, Albemarle recently achieved IRMA 50 of its lithium brine extraction and concentration plant in the Salar de Atacama, under the demanding standard of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA). Thus, we became the first lithium producer and the third mining site worldwide to complete an independent audit, reaffirming our commitment to transparent and responsible management of our resources.

Today we are committed to reducing freshwater use by 25% by 2030 in areas of high-water risk such as the Antofagasta region. In addition, Albemarle has also been a pioneer in signing an unprecedented agreement in Chile with the Council of Atacameño Peoples, recognising their people as the first inhabitants, and respecting their self-determination. This agreement establishes permanent cooperation on environmental issues related to the protection of the Atacama salt basin, in addition to providing 3.5% of annual sales for development projects.