LA PAZ, (Reuters) – Bolivian President Luis Arce said yesterday the country may start exporting lithium batteries starting by 2026, as part of the government’s plan to industrialize its vast resources of the white metal, a key component for powering electric vehicles.
In an interview on local TV, Arce said direct extraction methods would help the country produce cathodes by 2025 and export lithium batteries by the start of the following year.
Bolivia’s salt flats are home to the world’s largest lithium resources at 21 million tonnes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but the country has almost no industrial production or commercially viable reserves.
Arce said his government plans to be involved not only in mining the metal, but also in commercial phases of its development.
The South American leader also renew-ed calls for for an alliance across the so-called lithium triangle, an area of sprawling salt flats also spanning Chile and Argentina that is estimated to hold more than half the world’s lithium resources.
Arce said such an alliance could set prices, similarly to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Mexico, which first floated the idea of a cross-border association, could become an important ally, he added.
