Lithium mining: Mexico establishes state-owned company

The Mexican government has created a state-owned corporation to extract and market lithium. Through a decree in the Official Gazette of the Federation, the Ministry of Energy announced the creation of the decentralized public entity “Litio para México” (Lithium for Mexico/LitioMx).

It will be coordinated by the Ministry of Energy, with its own legal personality and assets and technical, operational, and administrative autonomy.

To achieve these objectives, “LitioMx” has the following tasks, among others: the elaboration of medium- and long-term strategic programs for the exploration, mining, exploitation, and use of lithium and its economic value chains, and the research and development of the technology needed in the industry for the use of lithium.

The establishment was announced in a decree issued by the Ministry of Energy and published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) on Tuesday, August 23.

According to the decree, the planning, budgeting, control, and use of federal public expenditures for “Litio para México” are subject to the provisions of the Federal Budget and Fiscal Responsibility Law, its regulations, the federal expenditure budget for each fiscal year and other applicable provisions.

It shall also develop and carry out technical projects, research, geological activities, and everything related to the exploration, mining, exploitation, and use of lithium; locate and recognize the geological areas where there are probable lithium reserves, with the assistance of the Mexican Geological Survey; and establish the basic geological information on lithium in the national territory.

Other tasks of the new state-owned company are to promote the sustainable use of lithium as part of the energy transition for the benefit of the population and to manage and control the activities necessary for the production, processing, and distribution of lithium products, for which it may partner with other public and private entities.

The Board of Directors of “LitioMx” will be composed of: the head of the Ministry of Energy (Sener), the head of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), the head of the Ministry of Economy (SE), the head of the Ministry of Interior (Segob), and the head of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat). This Board must be operational within sixty calendar days of the publication of the decree.

With information from Latina Press