Companies from China, the US, and Russia vise Bolivia’s lithium

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The president of Yacimientos del Litio Boliviano (YLB), Carlos Bone, said they would negotiate with the six pre-selected consortiums “the best sovereign conditions” to industrialize lithium, of which Bolivia has one of the world’s largest reserves.

The Bolivian government will convene six transnationals – four Chinese, one American, and one Russian – to negotiate with each of them “the best sovereign conditions” to industrialize lithium, of which Bolivia has one of the world’s largest reserves.

“It may be more than one company,” Carlos Ramos, president of the state-owned YLB, said at a press conference when presenting the final report of the international call launched in April last year. He added that the final selection would depend on the offers since the objective is that “the greatest amount of benefits will be for Bolivians”.

The six shortlisted companies are the US company Lilac Solutions based in California; Catl (Contemporary Amperex Technology) from China, the largest in terms of lithium battery manufacturing and recycling; Citic Guoan Group Co; Fusión Enertech; TBEA Group, also from China and the Russian Uranium One Group, linked to the giant Rosatom.

AT A DISADVANTAGE WITH CHILE AND ARGENTINA

According to the call for proposals, the companies were to test their technologies in “Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) with brines from Bolivian salt flats,” according to the call for proposals.

“All the technologies evaluated are applicable,” and the selected ones pose “a recovery of more than 80%” in three salt flats located in the southwest, Ramos explained.

“The purpose is to study the applicability of the different technologies for direct lithium extraction, as well as to accelerate the industrialization of evaporite resources in an efficient way and with the least environmental impact,” he said.

Twenty companies participated in the initial call for proposals. Of these, eight were pre-selected, and the six mentioned were the finalists.

Luis Arce’s government seeks to reactivate the strategic lithium industry after 14 years of limited progress that have left Bolivia behind its neighbors Chile and Argentina.

In 2008, then leftist President Evo Morales launched a strategy that rejected exporting the raw material, as has been the fate of mining in Bolivia since colonial times, and opted to seek partners to manufacture batteries in the country.

Since then, the government has invested US$695 million in the construction of pilot lithium carbonate and potassium chloride plants sold to the local market as fertilizers.

Experts say that nationalism and the country’s distrust of foreign investment have been an obstacle.

Arce has continued the policies of his mentor, Evo Morales.

“The Bolivian context is a disadvantage. For a company to dare to set up a factory in the country implies great risks due to the scarce support for the industries, the lack of human talent, the fragile institutional framework, strong political interference, and changes in the regulations,” said the Vice Minister of Mining and mining analyst, Héctor Córdova.

According to official estimates, the Uyuni salt flat, one of the largest salt deserts in the world, has one of the largest lithium reserves that this South American country is seeking to exploit.

With information from La Tercera