Motjuan and LATAM Investment Group form Chile copper alliance

Motjuan Resources and Commodities and LATAM Investment Group have signed an MOU to build a long-term critical minerals alliance, starting with a 3,000-tonne copper concentrate pilot in Chile. The deal is designed to connect Latin American supply with verified demand as buyers face tighter traceability and due-diligence rules.

Why it matters: - The alliance is meant to give Chilean and broader Latin American producers a route to international buyers through traceable, responsibly sourced critical minerals supply chains. - The partnership targets copper first, then other minerals and materials tied to battery, electric-mobility and energy-transition demand. - The structure could help smaller producers access financing, processing capacity and direct market access that can be hard to secure on their own.

What happened: - Motjuan Resources and Commodities L.L.C-FZ and Motjuan Resources and Commodities, Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding with LATAM Investment Group. - The MOU creates a long-term strategic alliance centered on Chile, with plans to expand into other producing regions across Latin America. - Ochroma Group LLC brokered the deal and continues to coordinate it. - The alliance has entered a pilot phase with an initial trial shipment of about 3,000 tonnes of copper concentrate.

The details: - LIG contributes extraction networks and processing infrastructure in Chile. - Motjuan contributes an international trading desk, trade-finance structuring and a compliance framework. - Ochroma Group is handling project facilitation and regional coordination, including on-site operational, documentation and stakeholder support in mining districts. - The pilot shipment is being led by LIG’s technical team, including mining engineer Hugo Díaz Hernández and metallurgist Ricardo Duque. - Ricardo Duque brings more than 30 years of experience in Chilean mining operations. - LIG recently appointed Jaime Pérez de Arce, a four-time executive vice president of Chile’s Empresa Nacional de Minería, to its board of directors. - The companies are negotiating definitive joint venture documentation. - Motjuan says its trading book includes eight signed sale contracts and 10 additional transactions at letter of intent stage. - Those deals include LME Grade A copper cathode supplied to industrial end users and merchants, including a battery-materials manufacturer in China. - Buyers are facing tighter due diligence requirements, including the EU Battery Regulation’s supply-chain obligations, which take effect Aug. 18, 2027. - The alliance is built around four priorities: upstream control and origin integrity, centralized processing infrastructure, trade finance and direct market pathways, and joint venture scaling and expansion. - Upstream controls include screening counterparties against international sanctions lists, applying OECD-aligned origin due diligence, and using independent inspection, assay and digital chain-of-custody records from mine site to export. - The processing plan uses LIG’s plants in Chile to improve recovery rates, support environmental compliance and raise operating efficiency. - The financing plan uses offtake, pre-export and trade-finance structures secured through financial instruments to give producers stable offtake and access to international buyers. - The scaling plan includes co-investment in mine expansions, strategic concession acquisitions and additional processing capacity for energy-transition metals in Chile and across the region.

Between the lines: - The deal pairs local mining and processing control with global trading and compliance infrastructure, which is the model many buyers now prefer for critical minerals. - The emphasis on verified origin and chain-of-custody records suggests the alliance is positioning itself for markets where traceability is becoming a commercial requirement, not just a preference. - Chile remains the launch point, but the broader Latin American scope signals an effort to build a regional supply platform rather than a single-asset transaction.

What's next: - The pilot shipment will test the logistics, documentation and commercial model before any larger rollout. - The companies are working toward definitive joint venture documentation. - The alliance is expected to evaluate mine expansions, concession acquisitions and additional processing capacity as it scales. - The partnership is intended to extend from Chile into other producing regions across Latin America.

The bottom line: - Motjuan, LIG and Ochroma are trying to build a compliant, scalable copper supply corridor from Latin America to global buyers, starting with a modest pilot and a broader regional expansion plan.