(Bloomberg) — For all the money that’s poured into Argentina’s giant lithium deposits, the country has seen just one new mine come on stream in almost a decade. That’s about to change.
Four new projects will finally begin to churn out lithium in the weeks and months ahead, according to a yet-to-be released federal government time-line seen by Bloomberg News. That will almost double production capacity in Argentina, whose growth potential has long lured the attention of battery makers around the world.
The projects — built on salt lakes nestled in the Andes mountains in South America’s so-called lithium triangle — are a boon for new President Javier Milei, who desperately needs more export dollars to lift currency controls that are stifling Argentina’s crisis-prone economy.
Yet for global lithium markets, the extra production comes at a time when buyers are already well supplied, with inventories piling up amid the gloomy outlook for electric vehicle demand. Spot prices of lithium carbonate in China have slid to the lowest since August 2021.
For the rest of this article: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/argentina-is-about-to-unleash-a-wave-of-lithium-in-a-global-glut-1.2091006