Rosatom’s international conglomerate Uranium One Group and Bolivia’s state-owned lithium company Yacimientos de Litio de Bolivia (YLB) signed Agreement on the construction of an industrial complex for the extraction and production of lithium carbonate (LCE) in the Potosi department of the republic. This was announced by the press service of the Russian state agency on Thursday, June 29. DEA News.
“The joint Russian-Bolivian project will create a full-fledged production chain in Bolivia, the country with the world’s richest lithium reserves, from the extraction of lithium raw materials to the production of a market product,” the statement said.
“For Rosatom, this is the first large-scale foreign project in the field of lithium production, with investments of approximately US$ 600 million.
“According to the results of the geological exploration, it is planned to build an industrial complex with a capacity of 25 thousand tons of lithium carbonate per year, with the possibility of increasing the capacity,” said Kirill Komarov, First Deputy General Manager of Rosatom.
The commissioning of the first phase and the start of production of the final products are planned in 2024 and reach full capacity by 2027.
Lithium is not mined in Russia, so the Russian Federation annually imports about 9 thousand tons of LCE from South America, writes. “Kommersant”.
“Bolivia has entered the age of lithium”
Lithium is a raw material for the manufacture of batteries and energy storage systems, which are in demand in electronics technology, electric vehicles and renewable energy sources.
Bolivia has the largest proven lithium reserves (24% of the world’s resources) located in the salt flats of Uyuni, Coipas and Pastos Grandes in the southwestern highlands.
The head of Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, said that Russian technology has made it possible to extract more than 90% of lithium from the salt marsh. According to him, the technology is “eco-friendly” as no chemical compounds are used in the mining process and the water flows back into the salt marshes.
The cost of removing lithium from groundwater brines is 4-5 thousand dollars per tonne of LCE. World prices for lithium carbonate are several times higher: a tonne costs $42,000.
In April 2023, Bolivian President Luis Arce stated that his country had “entered the lithium age and needed to accelerate”. For this, foreign partners were involved, including the Uranium One Group, reports red blood cell.
Rosatom needs lithium from Bolivia for battery production at a gigafactory in the Kaliningrad region, which is scheduled to be launched in the fall of 2025. The state company also plans to develop the Kolmozerskoye field in the Murmansk region together with Norilsk Nickel.