Mate, you need to read the mining legislation for nearly every mining jurisdiction around the world, particularly the definition's section of each framework and you will find that ALL mineral resources in most jurisdictions are classified as "property of the state'. That is why a miner pays a royalty on any minerals and/or petroleum and gas for resources which are exploited/produced. No different in Chile except lithium and some other minerals are classified as 'strategic', and all that stems from is Chile's ambitions to become a producer of nuclear energy back in the 1970s - something the current Mining Minister has stated needs to be changed because he thinks it is rediculous, as there are no more ambitions to create a nuclear energy industry in Chile. Also you need to research Chilean Mining Law/Regs a litle more as there are three avenues a tenement holder can take in seeking a CEOL. A Presidential grant is just one option.
Decree 64 was nothing more than a tanty thrown by the previous Government because LPI/MSB withdrew from the Maricunga tender and LPI/MSB was Codelco's ONLY viable development option at Maricunga. It was nothing more than a stunt and it has been PUBLICLY STATED that LPI/MSB has been invited to apply for a CEOL over Litio by the current Mining Minister. Just because there has been no public announcement about LPI/MSB applying for it's CEOL doesn't mean they haven't applied. I dont remember a public announcement about LPI/MSB applying to CCHEN for its old code quota, do you? I only remember the announcement that we were granted a quota over those tenements, the first in 30 years.
My advice to you - SELL, as you and some others on this site continue to jump at shadows. AND as I stated in my previous post, if push comes to shove we dont need Litio or Codelco to develop a very large BG LCE operation at Maricunga. We have ALL the leverage at that salar and the current Government knows it. Codelco hasn't broken soil on the salar. Its exploration efforts to date are ZERO. The exploration/pre-development works on the LPI/MSB tenements to date are the accumulation of around 10 years years of appraisal activities and over $70 million in expenditure. That cannot and will not be ignored by a Government, no matter their stripes.
LPI Price at posting:
27.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held