Julio Ponce has agreed that neither he nor any family member will hold a board or executive position in lithium miner SQM as he seeks to end a dispute with the Chilean government, forcing his brother Eugenio to step down as chairman. The two men have been locked in an increasingly bitter feud since late last year, when they accused each other of trying to manipulate the price of lithium, which is used for batteries and electric cars.
Julio Ponce has agreed that neither he nor any family member will hold a board or executive position in lithium miner SQM as he seeks to end a dispute with the Chilean government, forcing his brother Eugenio to step down as chairman. The holding companies through which Ponce controls SQM, Latin America's largest lithium and fertiliser producer, said they would adhere to the conditions imposed by government agency Corfo, allowing it to enter negotations over an extension of mining rights at one of the world’s richest sources of lithium.