New Investment In South America’s Lithium Triangle
Argentina, part of the ‘Lithium Triangle’ with Chile and Bolivia, has tripled its output of lithium during the past two years. Driven by new projects and foreign investment, this has cemented it as the world’s 4th largest producer of the much sought after ultra-light metal.
The country now has four production projects, including the new Centenario Ratones plant in Salta which was inaugurated earlier this month. The plant is a joint venture between Chinese and French investors and should output up to 24,000 tonnes a year by 2025, narrowing the gap to the top three lithium producing countries.
Bolivia has also signed a new deal with a Chinese consortium recently, where a new plant has been commissioned that should start to produce 2,500 tonnes of lithium per year during 2025. This follows investment in two previous plants last year that are expected to process a combined 24,000 tonnes sometime soon. To date, Bolivia has not fulfilled its dreams of becoming one of the world’s largest lithium producers and is ranked outside the top ten, but that could be about to change.
Meanwhile, the third member of the triangle – Chile – continues to be the second largest global lithium producer, behind leaders Australia and ahead of China in third.
The metal is currently in extremely high demand due to its use in lithium-ion batteries that now power the majority of the world’s electronic products and electric cars. Lithium batteries are often a hot topic of debate in the world of logistics due to the risk of them catching fire and have therefore been classified as dangerous goods. They are widely believed to be responsible for a number of ship, warehouse and even aircraft fires during recent years.
