Russia, China pour money into "white gold" in a South American country

The Bolivian government said state-owned mining group Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) has signed lithium deals with Russia’s Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation and China’s Citic Guoan Group, as the South American country looks to develop its vast but largely untapped “white gold” resources.

The planned $1.4 billion investment follows a similar deal in January with Chinese battery giant CATL, another potential win for Beijing in its efforts to bolster lithium supplies for electric vehicle batteries.

“With these agreements, our country will be able to produce around 100,000 tons of lithium carbonate by 2025 in the Uyuni, Coipasa and Pasto Grandes salt flats,” Bolivian Hydrocarbons and Energy Minister Franklin Molina said at an event in La Paz on June 29.

Bolivia’s famed salt flats are home to the world’s largest reserves of lithium, with 21 million tons, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Despite its vast reserves, Bolivia has struggled to exploit lithium, in part due to geography, political tensions and a lack of technical know-how.

World - Russia and China are pouring money into — Signing ceremony of lithium agreement between representatives of Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) and Russia's Rosatom in La Paz, Bolivia, June 29, 2023. Photo: AFP

As the world moves towards cleaner energy, lithium has become more important due to its use in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for vehicles and in renewable energy storage systems.

Governments, mining companies, battery markets and automakers around the world from Tesla to BMW are competing fiercely to secure supplies of the metals needed for the many batteries used to power electric vehicles, driving an electrified future.

Minister Molina said the latest investments will allow the construction of two direct lithium extraction (DLE) processing plants in the towns of Pasto Grande and Uyuni Norte, which will produce at least 45,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year. Construction of the two plants will begin in the next three months.

Russia's Rosatom, which bid through its Uranium One Group unit, confirmed the news, saying it would invest $578 million in the project - its first large-scale overseas lithium venture, with an expected capacity of 25,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year.

The agreement with the Russian company is to study feasibility and prepare for investment, Mr. Molina said, adding that multiple tests with the Russian technology on salt flats have shown lithium recovery rates above 80%, with purity of about 99.5%.

China's Citic Guoan, according to Mr. Molina, will invest $857 million and will also “consider investing in battery manufacturing plants and the installation, possibly together with technical studies, of an electric vehicle assembly plant to create a real electric transport revolution.”

Together with Bolivia, neighbors Chile and Argentina form the “lithium triangle,” home to the world’s largest reserves of the metal. Chile and Argentina are much more advanced in production, with projects often taking years to come to fruition .

Minh Duc (According to Today Online, Buenos Aires Times)

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