Factbox: Scramble to tap Latin America's lithium riches accelerates

Power Minerals

03/05/2022 21:58

MEXICO CITY, May 3 (Reuters) - A new Latin American lithium
association will be formed among the governments of Chile,
Argentina, Bolivia and Mexico in a bid to share expertise and
best practices to develop the key battery metal, the Mexican
president told reporters on Tuesday.
    Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador championed a
lithium nationalization law last month, the leftist leader's
latest embrace of state-centric resource nationalism, even
though the country's potential lithium deposits are still far
from achieving commercial-scale production.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2WH12X
    Bolivia, Argentina and Chile are often dubbed the "lithium
triangle," and together account for more than half the world's
reserves.
    Chile and Argentina are far ahead in production, due in
large part to more easily accessible salt flats rich in lithium,
while Bolivia's boasts more reserves of the ultra-light white
metal but lacks production.
    Global demand for lithium has surged in recent years, driven
in large part by miners and technology firms that hope to equip
future fleets of electric vehicles, which will need large
amounts of lithium as well as other metals for their
rechargeable batteries.
    Last year, global lithium production jumped 21%, powered by
spiking demand for industry-standard lithium-ion batteries,
according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
    
    TOP LATAM PRODUCERS
    Chile leads the way so far, helped by private operators, 
including two of the world’s biggest lithium producers SQM
 SQMA.SN  and Albemarle Corp  ALB.N . The South American
country, also a major copper miner, produced 26,000 metric
tonnes of lithium last year, followed by Argentina, which
boasted output of 6,200 metric tonnes, according to the United
States Geological Survey (USGS).
    Argentina, where state-owned YPF  YPFD.BA  shares the market
with private companies like Australia's Pepinnini Minerals Ltd
 PNN.AX  and U.S.-based Livent Corp  LTHM.N , has been trying to
attract more investors with new mining infrastructure and tax
cuts.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2Q93NR 
    Brazil is Latin America's third-biggest lithium producer
with 1,500 tonnes in output last year, according to USGS, also
boosted by private miners including U.S.-based Largo Clean
Energy  LGO.TO .  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MR1QJ
    
    POTENTIAL PRODUCERS
    At around 21 million metric tonnes, Bolivia holds the
world's largest lithium reserves, but has been unable to develop
them despite a decade of attempts. The sector is mostly
controlled by state firm YLB, but a planned auction has
attracted interest of major international prospectors.
    Contract awards are expected by late May.
    Studies suggest Mexico may have some 1.7 million tonnes of
lithium mostly trapped in clay-based soils. While close to a
dozen foreign companies have active mining concessions that aim
to develop potential lithium deposits, Lopez Obrador has
insisted that all of them will be "reviewed," which has cast a
cloud over the sector's future prospects.
    The Mexican populist has floated the creation of a new
state-owned lithium company, modeled after national oil giant
Pemex.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2WH12X
    Peru is estimated to hold 880,000 tonnes in prospective
lithium resources. Canada's Plateau Energy Metals has pledged to
raise $600 million to start mining lithium in the Andean nation
next year.

 (Reporting by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by David Alire Garcia
and Marguerita Choy)
 ((Valentine.Hilaire@thomsonreuters.com;))