Chile's lithium exceptionalism: Strategic legacies and the contested future of the Salar de Maricunga

Lithium has become foundational for the global energy transition, yet its extraction raises unresolved dilemmas of governance, geopolitics, and justice. In Chile—the world's second-largest producer—lithium is governed under an exceptional legal regime, created during the Cold War to safeguard potential nuclear applications, which sets it apart from other minerals, most notably copper. This paper argues that Chile's approach represents a case of lithium exceptionalism : a uniquely Chilean configuration shaped by historical legal restrictions, renewed state ambition, and intensifying global competition. We examine the Salar de Maricunga, a high-altitude basin with world-class lithium concentrations but limited development, as a lens into these dynamics. Unlike the heavily industrialised Salar de Atacama, Maricunga remains a frontier of potential where state recategorisation, Indigenous consultation, and environmental safeguards are being tested in real time. The case shows how Chile's lithium governance sits at the intersection of competing pressures: sovereignty versus investor certainty, global demand versus ecological fragility, and procedural consultation versus substantive Indigenous rights. By situating Maricunga within wider debates on resource nationalism, justice, and the geopolitics of critical minerals, the paper extends scholarly and policy discussions of energy transition governance. It offers a test case for whether exceptionalist regimes can reconcile sovereignty, sustainability, and justice in the contested era of energy transition.