Mexico acknowledged on Wednesday that it needs private investors to exploit its lithium reserves, which the leftist government has nationalized with the creation of a state company. “We are not going to have the means to make it only public. We need a lot of investment,” said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador during his daily press conference.
His majority in Parliament nationalized the exploitation of lithium, which is used in the manufacture of batteries for electric cars, last April. A public company, Litio para México (LitioMx), was created by decree on August 23. LitioMx is a “public-private” company, says the president now. The opening to private capital “will receive a lot of support. It is of interest to national and foreign investors, investment funds.”
The objective is the exclusive commercialization of “electric cars” for 2030-2035 within the framework of the Mexico-United States-Canada free trade agreement, according to the Mexican president. Mexico is advised by Bolivia, which negotiates the exploitation of its lithium in collaboration with German, Chinese and American companies, according to Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The executive previously said that he wanted to review eight concessions granted by previous governments.
Deposits in the north of the country
Mexico would have deposits in the north of the country (Sonora, Baja California, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí), indicated in December 2018 a study by the Ministry of Economy. A Chinese-owned company, Bacanora, claims on its website “ten mining concessions” covering “some 100,000 hectares” in the state of Sonora, citing a potential of 8.8 million tons. “There is still no information on the amount of existing lithium,” the president of the Mining Chamber of Mexico (CAMIMEX), Jaime Gutiérrez, had tempered.
Australia, Chile, Argentina and China are the world’s leading producers of lithium.
Source: BFM TV
