🇧🇴🌹 Bolivian Left wing Media, Kawsachun News on twitter:

— "🇺🇸🪖 US SOUTHCOM Commander Laura J. Richardson at a Security Forum held Aspen Institute*:

— "This region (South America) is so rich in resources.. it's off the charts rich."

"60% of the world's lithium is in the region; you have heavy crude, you have light sweet crude, you have rare earth elements, you have the Amazon...""

🔗 Kawsachun News (@KawsachunNews)

* The Aspen Institute is a US-based NGO focused on Central America, funded by Carnegie Corporation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation & Ford Foundation, all US-based financial and "philanthropic" organizations

Global Lithium Deposit Map

- US SOUTHCOM Commander General Laura Richardson:
"60 percent of the world's lithium is in the Lithium Triangle: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile."

📎 PDF

🌎 The geological diversity of South America ensures the continent is relatively rich in mineral wealth, with some of the world's largest deposits of copper, bauxite, iron ore and nickel. The copper endowment of Chile is particularly notable, accounting for 35 per cent of global copper production.

https://www2.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/download/statistics/south_american_mineral_production_1997_2006.pdf

🌎 🔨LatAm in the world's race for lithium: Part 1. Resources

Chile, Argentina and Bolivia alone hold 2/3 of the world's lithium reserves. Will such an advantage help these three countries succeed in a world where demand for lithium is soaring?

🔻The 'Lithium Triangle'

The so-called 'lithium triangle' is an arid region with expansive salt flats, shared between Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. According to estimates, this region holds 54% of the world’s lithium resources. The lithium deposits are found underneath the salt flats (contrary to Australia, which mines directly from hard rock deposits).

Bolivia is home to 21 million tons of lithium, followed by Argentina with 19.3 million and Chile with 9.6 million. These numbers are still subject to change, as active exploration leads to an increase in known resources. Identified global lithium resources rose from 53 million tons in 2018 to 89 million tons in 2022, according to the USGS.

🔻Three countries - three approaches

🇨🇱 Chile has transformed the majority of its available resources into economically viable reserves available for commercial production. Having the lowest deposits (out of the three countries), it managed to become the world’s second-largest commercial producer after Australia. The Atacama salt flat has the highest-quality, proven reserves with a low cost of production.

Things might soon change, though, as the Chilean government announced in April it will nationalize the country's lithium, requiring the state to control 51% of future ventures. Foreign lithium miners, such as Chinese SQM now must renegotiate its contract under the new rules. The Chilean Copper Commission already warns Argentina might overtake Chile as the 2nd world lithium producer by 2035, as Chile's market share is expected to decline.

🇧🇴 Bolivia has struggled to transform its lithium resources into commercially viable reserves, due in large part to the poor investment climate and the country’s political instability. The country nationalized its lithium reserves back in 2008 and missed out on foreign investment opportunities in the following decade. Having recently signed deals with China and Russia, Bolivia hopes to quickly reach high production levels in the coming years.

🇦🇷 Argentina has created a more favorable investment climate, as it asks for only 3% royalty (lower than Chile, which imposes a progressive royalty that can reach up to 40%). Since 2020, over $4 billion in investments have been announced, with dozens of private sector projects now in the pipeline. Most of these investments come from Chinese companies.

The three countries are in talks about a possible regional alliance on lithium - "a kind of lithium OPEC," as Bolivian President Luis Arce puts it.

🔻North America

🇺🇸 North America is also rich in lithium. The U.S. ranks 4th in total resources (9,1 million tons), but the only active lithium mine is in the state of Nevada, producing just 1% of global lithium.

🇲🇽 Mexico, which also holds some lithium reserves, nationalized its lithium last year and has since announced that only joint ventures with majority state control could exploit the mineral. Those companies that started lithium exploration before the nationalization process began will be able to continue mining under the previous terms.

Despite holding the largest lithium reserves, Latin American countries are lagging behind when it comes to lithium production and processing. So, which countries are actually taking advantage of the growing lithium market?

🔻🔻🔻
Part 2

#analysis #LatAm #lithium #resources #Chile #Argentina #Bolivia #US #Mexico

☠️ Blood Meridian