Aduviri bargaining beginsPeople in Puno are very expectant about the lithium found in Macusani and are wondering about the benefits it will give to the region, so responding to this demand Aduviri has begun the negotiation announcing his position in clearer terms: he thinks that the entire population of Puno should be consulted and wants to know which "roads and concrete projects" will be made possible by the lithium exploitation. This change form a political approach to a more pragmatic approach is very good news for the Falchani Project and it is the only way a no-sociopath politician would handle this opportunity given the extreme poverty that prevails in much of Puno and the progressive depletion of the San Rafael tin mine, the main source of resources to Puno.
I think that to some extent the weakness in sp we have seen in the last couple of weeks is related to the anxiety that is invading some investors about Aduviri taking office in January, so having more information about his point of view regarding the project could help to have a better picture of what we can expect in 2019 on local issues. But it is still true that this fears of a US recession to come at some point in 2019-2021 are putting dark clouds over the entire TSX because an economic event of this magnitude would of course make financing very difficult for every project and even more for lithium projects. In this regard, the idea (sketched by Aduviri) of an association between the Company and the Peruvian State to build the Project would put Falchani in a privileged position in the pipeline of Projects even in the most adverse global conditions. Although the Consitution is very clear in prohibitng the State intervention in this kind of business, it has already been changed (on other topics) with the referendum held on dec-9 so who knows, just dropping ideas.
https://larepublica.pe/sociedad/1376799-aduviri-plantea-litio-explote-previa-consulta-poblacion-puno Aduviri suggests that lithium be exploited after consulting the entire population of Puno The elected governor of Puno, Walter Aduviri Calisaya, pronounced on the lithium reserve found in the province of Carabaya, north of the city of Puno. He assured that it is a strategic resource and, in order to be exploited, it is necessary the pronounciation of the population in the thirteen provinces and 110 districts of Puno.
He considered that previously, concrete benefits should be established for all the Puno people. Aduviri, who will take office on January 1, 2019, said that mining companies were badly used to get social license only in the populations of their area of influence, which made it possible to deceive the population many times with gifts and false promises of development.
"That is why we propose the Bolivian model. A large percentage remains in the hands of the State and that allows having more roads and concrete projects", he said. The elected authority acknowledged that it does not have jurisdiction over the large-scale mining, but assured that it will minimally propose that the population be consulted. https://larepublica.pe/economia/1374988-litio-potencial-yacimiento-puno-superior-reservas-bolivia Lithium: Potential of the deposit in Puno is higher than Bolivia's reserves In 2019, the Puno agenda should focus on the correct use of the lithium reserves found by the Canadian mining company Macusani Yellowcake. According to the specialist Jos de Echave, this mineral has a greater potential compared to the reserves that are currently being exploited in other countries of the region.
"It is an important deposit because unlike the lithium of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia that are in brines, that of Puno is in a mine. That gives greater purity and greater potential to the deposit", he said. (...)