The odds of Latin America’s three lithium powers banding together to form a production cartel have almost evaporated due to contrasting economic models, a leading geopolitical analyst says.
Argentina, Chile and Bolivia have previously held discussions with Brazil about the creation of a group – inspired by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries, or OPEC – tasked with boosting lithium processing capacity and turning more of their mined metal into batteries. Together, Argentina, Bolivia and Chile – dubbed the Lithium Triangle – hold an estimated 60% of global lithium resources.
While Chile and Argentina have made strides in luring foreign investors to boost output of the white metal, Bolivia – referred to by some observers as the Saudi Arabia of lithium thanks to its abundant reserves – remains a fringe producer due in part to wide-ranging state involvement in the industry. Even a possible change of government following the upcoming August election might not suffice to spur lithium output, according to Diego von Vacano, a political science professor at Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government.
For the rest of this article: https://northernminer.com/news/opec-style-lithium-cartel-now-unlikely-analyst-says/1003877338/