SQM, Albemarle ‘likely fall’ on ‘scary’ Chile headlines, says BMO Capital

BMO Capital contends that shares of SQM (SQM) and Albemarle (ALB) will "likely fall" given the "scary" headlines around the eventual or potential Chilean government involvement in these companies’ Atacama lithium assets. However, the firm is "not sure what it all really means" as it notes that any plan needs to be passed through different government levels, SQM and Albemarle already pay high royalties, and they have extraction contracts in place through 2030 and 2043, respectively. SQM only has Chilean lithium production until its Australian JV commissions later this decade, while for Albemarle Chile represents about half of its lithium production currently, but this will be falling over time, says BMO, which has Outperform ratings on both stocks.