Chile-based lithium and potash producer SQM's entire holding is up for grabs.

Mining Minister Aurora Williams said on Sunday that the country is not opposed to a foreign takeover of SQM. In December, an indirect shareholder, Oro Blanco, encouraged buyers to issue an offer for its whole holding in investment company Pampa Calichera.

"Those are decisions to be made specifically by the company," Williams said in an interview through an interpreter during the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada, or PDAC, convention. "In no way would we indicate to them or give our intentions as to how the company should be structured."

SQM's sale was pushed after Julio Ponce was forced to step down as the company's chairman last year due to two separate scandals. Ponce is the former son-in-law of late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

Oro Blanco holds about 88 percent of Pampa Calichera. Pampa Calichera, meanwhile, owns approximately 20 percent of SQM, a chief producer of lithium used in batteries. SQM is also a significant supplier of potash and iodine.

Who are the Potential Buyers?

SQM, which claims to be the largest lithium producer globally, is expected to attract many buyers because of its access to huge nitrate and lithium reserves located in northern Chile.

Among those believed to be setting its sights into SQM are China's CITIC CLSA Capital Markets and ICL Israel Chemicals. Williams said that any company conducting operations in Chile should follow environmental, safety and labor standards.

Demand for Lithium

Northern Chile's Atacama salt flat holds about 20 percent of the world's lithium reserves. The location was seen as the best and cheapest place globally to produce lithium back in 2014. The salt flat belongs to an area called "The Lithium Triangle," which sprawls along Chile, Argentina and Bolivia.

The rise of electronic gadgets has raised the demand for lithium. Lithium is used for devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and electric cars.

Williams also said that Chile will see a recovery of copper prices in 2018. Chile, the world's biggest copper producer, saw a decline in copper output in January due to the year-long collapse in prices that pushed miners to scale back.

Japan has put 90 percent of its investments in Chile's copper mining industry in 2014. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said that they want Chile to become Japan's entryway to Latin America.