Bolivia takes another shot at lithium

After decades of misfires, Bolivia is hoping it has finally found a successful way to tap its world-beating reserves of lithium, a mineral that is critical to the global transition away from fossil fuels.

Bolivia has 21mn tonnes of brine lithium reserves, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), but so far has been unable to find the best way to mine it.

"Bolivia could be a big player, but right now it is not in the building," said Christopher Ecclestone, a mining strategist at London-based Hallgarten & Company.

Bolivian president Luis Arce's government, one year after taking office, now believes it can change that.

A few years ago, state-owned lithium company YLB started limited production of lithium carbonate and potassium chloride from the Uyuni salt flats in southwest Bolivia. In 2018, the company signed a deal with Germany's ACI Systems to develop lithium in Uyuni, and a year later it signed an agreement with a Chinese consortium, TBEA Group, for two other salt flats, one in Potosi and the other in highland Oruro province. The deals were revoked in late 2019, during political turmoil that sparked the resignation of long-serving president Evo Morales.

In late November, the Arce government signed agreements with eight companies from Argentina, China, Russia and the US to carry out pilot tests with direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology at the Coipasa, Pastos Grandes and Uyuni salt flats.

The companies behind the DLE projects for Bolivia include Argentina's Tecpetrol, China's Catl Brunp & Cmoc, Citic Guoan/Cris TBEA Group and Fusion Enertech, Russia's Uranium One Group and US firms EnergyX and Lilac Solutions.

YLB will evaluate the proposals based on the percentage of lithium extracted from the brine and environmental impact. It will make a decision on the technology later this year and is targeting production of cathodes for lithium batteries by 2024.

Most of the firms plan to process samples at facilities in their home countries. The exception is EnergyX which says it plans to install a pilot plant in Uyuni. The equipment is due to arrive in January.

Diego von Vacano, a Bolivian professor at Texas A&M University focused on lithium, said DLE technology could get Bolivia in the game.

"My take is that the quality of lithium is so good and the amount is so large that this is going to happen and it will be a game-changer," he said.

Li Trio

Ecclestone and von Vacano see neighboring Argentina as a key influence. Argentina follows Bolivia with reserves, 19.3mn t, according to the USGS.

Argentina is moving ahead rapidly to develop brine lithium deposits in the three highland provinces near Bolivia.

"Argentina is winning the lithium race hands down right now. Its three provinces, Catamarca, Jujuy and Salta, could be the Saudi Arabia of lithium," Ecclestone said.

Von Vacado acknowledges the work underway in Argentina and Chile, but said this does not leave Bolivia out in the cold.

"I think Chile and Argentina can go ahead, but eventually world demand is going to be so high that Bolivia will still have a pivotal role," he said.

He envisions the three countries working together. The Argentinian and Bolivian governments are already talking, and von Vacano expects Chile to follow. Chile has the third highest reserves in the world, with 9.6mn t, and Chile's SQM and US firm Albemarle already have established production and exports there.

"In the next few years we will see the ABC (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile) triangle emerge both at the state level but also with private enterprise," he said.

By Lucien Chauvin