Lithium was discovered by a Swedish chemist in 1817, one year after our independence. But it only began to make itself known in Argentina in 1994 when the first exploitation began in Catamarca which is still going from strength to strength in the hands of the American company Livent.
Then Salta and Jujuy were added, which also seem to be blessed with this mineral of which name comes from the Greek and means pebble.
Argentina, together with Chile and Bolivia, accounts for 85% of the world’s lithium reserves, key to the batteries of mobile phones and cars that are abandoning the use of fossil fuels.
The ore is in such demand that the ton It was listed last year at US$70,000.
In Argentina lithium comes from a salt lake. There is only one other like it in the world and that is Lake Zhabuye in distant China.
In other parts of the planet it is mined from a rock and the distance between the two sources is measured in thousands of dollars.
The one found in this region is much cheaper and that’s what sparked the current lithium rush. Argentina has another advantage as lithium is from high concentration and few impurities.
This is caused by the ingress of hydrothermal vents which add lithium to the salt pan and brine tank.
The mineral is once again attracting attention these days thanks to the law passed in La Rioja declaring it “strategic resource” and suspends activities for 120 days.
The companies and the chambers raised the cry in the sky, and yesterday the producing provinces also let it be known that, although it is applied to La Rioja, It affects everyone’s investments.
That law is curious, they say in Catamarca, Salta and Jujuy, because there is no exploitation of lithium in La Rioja.
In 2021, La Rioja granted a permit to the Canadian Origin Resources in an area of 21,000 hectares.
And in parallel he created Kallpa SAPEM (anonymous company with majority state participation), which will be dedicated to the development of lithium and renewable energies.
There is currently only in the country two projects in full production. That of the aforementioned Livent of Catamarca which collects 20,000 tons of lithium a year and is about to bring this capacity to 30,000. The other, from the Australian Allkem of Jujuy, which is expanding its volumes.
And it is about to start producing that of Exar, a company that includes the American Lithium Americas, China’s Ganfeng Lithium and JEMSE, by the government of Jujuy. In Salta there are 17 projects. The most advanced is that of the French Eramine whose representative in Argentina is the former ambassador Archibaldo Lanús.
There is also another one from Ganfeng and Lithium Americas.
Catamarca is asked for clues by the Chinese Zijing Mining and by Posco in the South Korean capitals.
There is also interest from local entrepreneurs. The most developed company is Lítica, which belongs to the Pluspetrol oil company, founded by the Rey and Poli families. He bought part of a giant salt pan in Salta a few years ago and has already sold half of it to the hands of the Chinese company Ganfeng.
José Luis Manzano recently ventured into it: owns 13.4% of the total and became the largest individual shareholder of Australian Latin Resources. They have untapped areas in Catamarca.
In state the announced landing of the PAE is more embryonicof the Bulgheroni family, in this promising area.
Last year Argentina exported lithium to the equivalent of $700 million.
Source: Clarin
