- Albemarle (ALB +1.6%) says it regrets Chile's decision to initiate international arbitration over the company's alleged underpayment of royalties on its lithium sales.
- Chilean state development agency Corfo filed before the International Chamber of Commerce on Friday, claiming at least $15M in royalties are outstanding for 2020.
- The head of Corfo says the method of calculating the commission Albemarle paid to Chile was incorrectly used last year, which meant it had paid $44M rather than the $60M the company should have paid.
- Albemarle says it has fulfilled all contractual obligations with Chile and will continue operations in the country, where it has major lithium projects in the Atacama salt flats, location of one of the world's largest deposits of lithium.
- Albemarle looks "highly overvalued" based on 2020 and projected 2021 results, as current prices seem driven by general enthusiasm for electric vehicle-related stocks, Gary Gambino writes in a new analysis posted on Seeking Alpha.