Bolivia Inaugurates New Lithium Carbonate Plant as It Develops Sector

Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Bolivian President Luis Arce has inaugurated Bolivia's first lithium carbonate plant, which can process 15,000 metric tons per year, helping the country to enter the commercial lithium market.

The plant is located in Llipi, Potosi; it will initially operate at 30% capacity and will progressively increase production until it reaches full capacity by 2025. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project and Plant databases can click here for the project report and click here for the plant profile.

"Today is a historic day, as we not only celebrate the inauguration of operations at our industrial lithium carbonate production plant, but we also take a momentous step in the economic development of the country by fully immersing ourselves in the industrialization process of our valuable lithium resource," Arce said during the inauguration event.

According to the United States Geological Survey, Bolivia is home to the world's largest lithium resource reserve, with 21 million tons. Yet its industry remains considerably underdeveloped compared to its neighbors, Chile and Argentina. Together, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile comprise the world's top three lithium resources.

Bolivia has nationalized the lithium industry, requiring any private company to partner with state-owned Yacimientos Litio Bolivianos (YLB) across all industrial segments of the sector. Additionally, the government has worked to establish deals with Russian and Chinese businesses, both political allies of the Bolivian administration in power.

So far, the government has signed deals with Chinese and Russian companies such as Uranium One Group, CBC and Citic Guoan.

According to the Bolivian Energy Ministry, four projects are under execution to construct lithium carbonate plants with a combined capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year. These plants will implement direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology.

Last year, YLB produced 600 metric tons of lithium carbonate, which was exported to China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

As Bolivia seeks to ramp up its lithium industry, international companies are getting more interested in being involved. Last month, a group of European enterprises traveled to Bolivia to visit lithium operations across the country and hold high-level meetings with officials involved in the sector.

The aim of the trip was to find a market for Bolivia's growing lithium production as the transition to cleaner energies demands larger volumes of the white metal.

Industrial Info is tracking eight lithium-related projects in Bolivia, worth nearly US$1.3 billion. Subscribers can click here for the project reports.

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