He China’s leading lithium producerthe mining company Ganfeng Lithium, has announced that it intends to buy a stake in 14.8% of the Pastos Grandes project in Salta province. Currently this enterprise is managed by the Argentine branch of the Canadian mining company. Millennial Lithium Corp.
The outlay expected by the Chinese company is of 70 million dollars. And the proceeds will be mainly used for the development of the Pastos Grandes salt lake project, Ganfeng said in a note to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
The project is located in the same basin as Sal de la Puna, which is also owned by the Chinese mining company e 100 kilometers from the Caucharí-Olaroz project – the largest in the country – controlled by the Argentine company Minera Exar. This company is made up of Lithium Argentina, Ganfeng and Jemse (Jujuy Energía y Minería Sociedad del Estado).
“As we prioritize the Caucharí-Olaroz project, which is already among the largest lithium brine operations in Argentina, the transaction further strengthens our balance sheet and enhances our growth plans Leverage our existing equipment and nearby operations“John Kanellitsas, interim CEO and president of the Canadian mining company, said this in a statement.
The deal was announced amid growing interest in lithium, a resource used in the creation of batteries for electric cars and the electronics industry.
Much of the lithium development program in the coming years, as explained by the companies, is to sell that product to battery terminals and manufacturing plants located in Chinawhich in turn have contracts with international companies such as BMW, Volkswagen, LG, Samsung, which are large multinationals.
For its part, Ganfeng is a supplier of lithium to electric vehicle manufacturers such as Tesla, which will now strengthen “its lithium asset design” and its resource self-sufficiency, according to the Chinese company.
As highlighted by the companies in a statement, with the support of Lithium Argentina, Ganfeng plans to explore direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to complement the solar evaporation process the conventional one currently used in Pastos Grandes.
This methodology for extracting minerals is more ecological because it consumes less energy and other chemical reagents and has a lower cost.
The Chinese conquer Puna
The Chinese mining company has also invested in other projects in Salta, such as Mariana, managed by the local subsidiary Litio Minera Argentina; In Incahuasi, managed by local subsidiary Ganfeng Litio Argentina; It’s inside Exit Punaunder the control of the company’s strategic partner Arena Minerals.
Argentina is the world’s fourth largest producer of lithium behind Australia, Chile and China. At the same time, it owns 20% of the reserves of the Lithium Triangle, the area including Bolivia and Chile that has 50% of the world’s resources.
Over 50% of mining investments in the country are Chinese capitalsparticularly in the lithium market, for which it is also the main export destination with 40% of shipments, plus Japan, Korea and the United States.
Source: Clarin
