Von Vacano, who advised Bolivia’s President Luis Arce on his latest lithium investment initiatives, also likes U.S.’s EnergyX which recently completed a pilot project to obtain lithium through a new technology called direct lithium extraction (DLE). Then there is Lake Resources, which is working to unearth 50,000 tons from Argentina by 2030, pitting itself against the likes of Rio Tinto which is also looking to muscle in the country. “You have SQM and Albemarle who are major global companies with proven businesses all over the world. “The best thing investors can do right now is to invest in Chile and Argentina” where mining firms are also allowed to own state lithium resources unlike Bolivia where the constitution bans it, said industry expert and Texas A&M University professor Diego Von Vacano. So how can investors profit from Bolivia’s EV ambitions?įor starters, they can invest in a slew of publicly-traded companies including CATL but also Chile’s Sociedad Quimica Minera ( SQM) and Australia’s Albemarle ( ALB) and Lion Town Resources ( LINRF), all of which are rushing to mine lithium in Bolivia, South America and around the world. On top of this, China’s government-backed Citic Guoan Group and Russian state energy firm Rosatom will earmark $1.4 billion to extract another 100,000 tons of the world’s lightest metal. It plans to initially produce 100,000 tons, then ramp up with additional investment. This as demand for the silver-white metal, also used to make cell phones and laptops, is set to rise five-fold by 2030, according to consultancy Li-Bridge.ĬATL will build two facilities in the fabled Uyuni salt flats, home to the bulk of Bolivia’s reserves but also a major tourist attraction and the set of past Star Wars films. Global EV giants, however –notably China’s battery supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology, which counts Tesla and Ford ( F) as customers – are set to plough billions into Bolivia to help it churn out 300,000 tons of lithium between 2025 to 2030. It currently makes just 600 tons a year through a pilot plant held by state-owned producer Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos, though it plans to boost it to 15,000 tons in the coming year. Bolivia, however, has failed to catch up, hurt by political turbulence and technological setbacks.
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