SANTIAGO, March 12 (Reuters) - Chile and the U.S. have

signed a joint statement to begin discussions on rare earths and

other types of critical minerals, Chile's foreign ministry said

on Thursday.

The first meeting will take place within the next two weeks,

it added. Areas of potential coordination include public and

private financing for mining projects, the management of scrap

for minerals recycling, and exploration for new projects that

could help boost minerals supplies in both countries.

The Trump administration has been pushing to reduce reliance

on China for a range of critical minerals, which are used in

electric vehicles, semiconductors, defense systems and consumer

electronics.

Chile is the world's largest copper producer and

second-largest lithium producer, although it relies on imports

of other minerals.

"I believe there is much we can do with the United States and

Chile to strengthen the supply chains of these minerals," U.S.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau told journalists in

Chile, where right-wing Jose Antonio Kast was sworn in as

president on Wednesday.

"We will discuss how we can work together," Landau added.

Landau, who previously served as U.S. ambassador to Mexico,

signed the agreement with Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs

Francisco Perez Mackenna in a Santiago ceremony overseen by

Kast.

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Albemarle has

produced lithium in the country's northern Atacama region for

more than 50 years, operations that have made it the world's

largest producer of that battery metal.

Albemarle was not immediately available to comment on the

partnership between the two countries.

EnergyX, a Puerto Rico-based lithium technology startup

backed by General Motors ( GM ), aims to build a $1.1 billion

lithium facility in Chile that is slated to come online in 2028

and eventually produce 50,000 metric tons per year.

"This is a good first step on Kast's first day in office to

sign something of a framework agreement with the U.S.," said

Teague Egan, the EnergyX CEO, who met Kast at U.S. President

Donald Trump's "Shield of the Americas" summit last Saturday in

Miami.