<article><p class="lead">Argentina hopes to catapult annual lithium carbonate production to more than 230,000t by the end of 2022 from a current 40,000 t/yr.</p><p>The fivefold increase would boost the value of Argentina's lithium exports to more than $1bn, from just $190mn last year, according to Argentina's mining secretary Alberto Hensel.</p><p>The ambitious estimate hinges on $1bn in investment over the next three years, Hensel said.</p><p>Fresh off another sovereign debt restructuring, Argentina's government has set up a roundtable tasked with drawing up a 30-year mining plan.</p><p>"Argentina needs to strengthen projects that lead to exports, and mining is part of that solution," said planning minister Matias Kulfas.</p><p>Hensel pledged that the government would analyze investment incentives, including a possible exemption for profit repatriation. "We must guarantee that companies have access to export revenue," he said.</p><p>He also suggested that Argentina could impose a system of "progressive" export taxes to charge lower rates at the beginning of a new development to ensure companies can make a return on their initial investment more quickly. Lithium currently pays an export tax of 8pc.</p><p>Argentina, which is among world's top four lithium producers alongside Australia, <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2150326?keywords=lithium">Chile</a> and China.</p><p>Argentina had hoped the mining sector would grow exponentially this year, but bleak macroeconomic conditions and pandemic restrictions dashed expectations.</p><p>Mining exports including lithium, gold and silver will decline by 25pc this year and will likely end the year at around $2.4bn, Hensel said, while investments in the sector will fall from $240mn last year to around $160mn in 2020. </p><p>Argentina has the world's third-largest lithium reserves and is nestled in the "lithium triangle" that also includes <a href="https://www2.argusmedia.com/en/news/2151430-pragmatist-restores-bolivia-to-socialist-party-rule?backToResults=true&amp;selectedMarket=Metals">Bolivia</a> and Chile.</p><p>Two lithium developments are in production and two others are under construction. Another 10 are undergoing a preliminary economic assessment. If all the projects move forward it would imply total investment of $5.4bn.</p><p>US firm Livent operates the Fenix mine in northern Catamarca with a current capacity of 22,500 t/yr of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). The mine is undergoing an expansion to 28,500 t/yr LCE in 2021. Australia's Orocobre runs a 17,500 t/yr joint venture with Japan's Toyota Tsusho and provincially owned Jujuy Energia y Mineria Sociedad del Estado (JEMSE) in northern Jujuy province, with a plan to boost capacity to 42,500 t/yr next year.</p><p>Minera Exar, a joint venture between Litium Americas and Ganfeng Lithium, is currently developing a separate Jujuy mine with projected capacity of 50,000 t/yr of LCE, while Australia's Rincon is targeting a 50,000 t/yr project in northern Salta province, according to Argentinian government data.</p><p class="bylines">By Daniel Politi</p></article>
