Technicians from Bolivia and China are promoting lithium manufacturing

“These works are being carried out to achieve the implementation of these plants, from these investments, in the salt flats of Quibasa (Ororo) and Uyuni (Potosi). Initially, it has a duration of six months, ”explained the president of YLB, Carlos Ramos, in an interview with Bolivia Television.

He described that at this stage several “complements” are being worked on to cover all risks and to develop a specific industry in the salt flats.

Ramos explained that one particular design is necessary for Uyuni and another for Quebassa, and that planning expects to start construction after these six months, once all these complementary studies have been completed.

Ramos and the representative of the Chinese consortium CATL BRUNP & CMOC (CBC), Qinghua Zhou, signed on January 20, in a public law at the Casa Grande del Pueblo (the seat of government), an agreement for the installation of two stations with the technology. Direct extraction of lithium with investments of more than $1.83 million.

This negotiation process began in April 2021 with a public call, announced by President Luis Arce, and published by YLB.

The authorities expect the works to be completed by the end of 2024 and will operate from the first quarter of the following year.

International market sources indicate that a ton of lithium carbonate has increased from five thousand dollars to 76 thousand units of that currency in the past 16 months, and the average price is expected to stabilize in the coming years in the range of 35 thousand to 40 thousand dollars.

Based on this data, the Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Franklin Molina, stated on January 24 that Bolivia will enter about five thousand dollars in export per ton of industrial lithium from 2025.

The Bolivian authorities insist that the state company YLB will control one hundred percent of the mineral production chain, which is why the alleged delivery of this resource to foreign companies is excluded.

jf/jpm