Bolivia steps up lithium dealmaking despite growing opposition – by Sergio Mendoza and James Attwood(Bloomberg News – January 21, 2025)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Bolivia is stepping up efforts to tap the world’s biggest lithium deposits, readying deals with new investors to build processing plants despite low prices and growing opposition from lawmakers and citizen groups.

The Andean nation opened its first industrial-scale plant in late 2023, built by a Chinese group, and last year signed deals for further investments with Russia’s Uranium One Group and a Chinese consortium, which are awaiting congressional approval.

“With the two new contracts, we plan to reach 49,000 tons of lithium carbonate annually within three years,” Omar Alarcon, president of state-owned lithium company YLB, said in an interview. “And we plan to send a new contract to Congress in the first quarter of the year.”

For the rest of this article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-21/bolivia-steps-up-lithium-dealmaking-despite-growing-opposition