Lithium triangle

Updated February 19, 2021—The insatiable demand for the latest smartphone, along with a need to transition to clean energy, keeps driving demand for the lightest of metals. Lithium, with its high electrical conductivity, is key to many rechargeable devices, such as cellphones, laptops, and energy storage systems, not to mention electric vehicles, for which global sales are expected to rise That bodes well for the countries of the Lithium Triangle—Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile—where 58 percent of the world’s identified lithium resources lies, per salares, where the metal is extracted from brine pools through an evaporation process facilitated by the arid, sunny climate. Resources, however, do not necessarily translate to accessible reserves or production capacity, which require technology, investment, and a favorable regulatory framework to harness the power and potential of this so-called “white gold.” An over-supply of lithium, coupled with falling prices in recent years, led mining companies to scale back operations. Yet, lithium consumption, 70 percent of which goes toward batteries, continues to rise. Add to that pandemic-fueled logistical hurdles stalling projects and the seven- to 10-year cycles needed to launch production, and securing the metal’s supply has become a strategic concern for technology manufacturing hubs. Such is the case for China, the EU, Japan, South Korea, and the United States, which together import Here we identify the state of lithium developmen...

By Kathryn Ledebur, the director of the Andean Information Network in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and Erika Weinthal, a professor of environmental policy and public policy at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. Rectangular yellow, green, and blue pools are shown from an aerial view in the desert. The United States needs to accelerate its energy transition—and quickly. The only problem? It needs vast quantities of raw materials to do so, and it will have to negotiate with other countries to acquire them in time. Washington will likely need to turn to South America for lithium, a material needed to produce the rechargeable batteries that drive the energy transition. But the progressive governments of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile—known as the lithium triangle because they have the world’s largest lithium reserves—resent more than a century of U.S. intervention. As global demand soars, all three governments plan to strengthen state control over the industry. They are looking for ways to process their lithium domestically and partner with companies from nations other than the United States—especially China, the international leader in lithium operations. If the Biden administration truly wants to diversify its global supply chains to electrify the U.S. car market, it must abandon the archaic, punitive policies in Latin America it inherited from previous administrations and engage constructively with the lithium triangle governments. To date, U.S. lithium extrac...

To know more, download Litio en la Argentina: Oportunidades y desafíos para el desarrollo de la cadena de valor (in Spanish). Want to learn more about the extractive sector in Latin America? Check our online, free and massive course, taught in partnership with Columbia University. It is a vast, white landscape that blends with the sky and clouds. Bolivia’s Uyuni Salt Flat, a gleaming, 11,000-square-kilometer desert, is one of the best photo ops on earth (and is even visible from space). This unique landscape is also the site of the world’s largest lithium reserves. Perhaps not as dramatically, nearby countries Argentina, Peru and Chile also possess enviable supplies of the substance sometimes referred to as “white gold.” Lithium, a metallic element, is best known for its role in energy-storage technology. Lithium-ion batteries, rechargeable and lightweight, power the most-used electronic devices on the planet, from cell phones to laptops. The design of the battery laid “the foundations for a wireless society,” said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences this year, when it announced the winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. John B. Goodenough of the United States, Stanley Whittingham of Great Britain and Akira Yoshino of Japan were decorated for their work developing that foundation. Investigations began when Whittingham sought a route to fossil-fuel-free energy technologies. In the years that followed, Goodenough and Akira worked to optimize the technology, eventually re...

The lightest of metals may be causing the largest of impacts. Lithium, which The Lithium Triangle is one of the While lithium extraction is relatively Economic and Social Factors at Play Bolivia is home to Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat that spans 4,000 square miles. Beneath this natural wonder are massive lithium deposits, composing about However, these ideals have yet to come to fruition. Bolivia may be rich in natural resources, but it is a very poor nation, which makes the prospects of autonomously operating lithium-mining projects slim. Lithium mining requires significant financial and technological investments, and no foreign firm was willing to cede control if it was to make those investments. It was not until 2018 that Bolivia found a partner. ACI Systems Alemania, a German firm, This joint business venture, however, has not appeared to take the form of a true partnership, and has certainly not been what García Linera envisioned. The local population is In Argentina, a similar story unfolds. Beneath the ancestral land of the indigenous Atacamas lie Local residents should not be struggling to pay for sewage systems and adequate resources while distant firms profit off of their natural resources. Revision to the legal framework that governs lithium mining is essential, as the current system privileges the interests and whims of companies like Minera Exar. While the provincial government in Argentina has control over mineral rights, the Atacamas have le...

In the latest report from the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program, The Lithium Triangle: The Case for Post-Pandemic Optimism, energy expert Patricia I. Vásquez examines the vast lithium resources in South America’s “lithium triangle” (Argentina, Bolivia and Chile) and the potentially transformational economic development opportunities in this sector. Argentina and Chile are the world’s second- and fourth-largest lithium producers, respectively, and Bolivia holds the world’s largest lithium resources not yet commercially developed. These resources offer exceptional economic development opportunities, given expectations of skyrocketing demand for lithium-ion batteries for energy storage and the rapidly expanding global market for electric vehicles. But the “lithium triangle” countries face a range of challenges, including low prices, delayed investment and production interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To overcome these and other challenges, and position South America to take advantage of an expected spike in lithium demand, Vásquez recommends regional coordination to harmonize legal and regulatory regimes, facilitate cross-border investments and align environmental and social policies. Latin American Program The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin American Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actio...

The Lithium Triangle ( Triángulo del Litio) is a region of the The area is thought to hold around 54% of the world's lithium reserves. According to The Economist as a particular advantage. In December 2018 Bolivia signed an agreement with the German company All lithium extracted in Chile as of 2023 comes from The indigenous inhabitants of Salar de Atacama basin –the See also [ ] • Anlauf, Axel (2016). "Greening the imperial mode of living? Socio- ecological (in)justice, electromobility, and lithium mining in Argentina". In Pichler, Melanie; Staritz, Cornelia; Küblböck, Karin; Plank, Christina; Raza, Werner; Ruiz Peyré, Fernando (eds.). Fairness and Justice in Natural Resource Politics. • Ellsworth Dickson (2017). Resource World . Retrieved 7 December 2019. • ^ a b c d . Retrieved 21 April 2023. • ^ a b . Retrieved 20 April 2023. • CELAG (in Spanish). 23 May 2022 . Retrieved 26 March 2023. • ^ a b Munita C., Ignacia (21 April 2023). . Retrieved 21 April 2023. • ^ a b c Browne R., Vicente (21 April 2023). . Retrieved 21 April 2023. • ^ a b Villegas, Alexander; Scheyder, Ernest (21 April 2023). Reuters . Retrieved 21 April 2023. • Pescio, Benjamín; Arvelo, María C. (21 April 2023). . Retrieved 22 April 2023. • ^ a b c Lorca, Mauricio; Olivera Andrade, Manuel; Escosteguy, Melisa; Köppel, Jonas; Scoville-Simonds, Morgan; Hufty, Marc (2022). The Extractive Industries and Society. 9. Bibliography [ ] • Dube, Ryan (10 August 2022). CCLXXX (35). . Retrieved 11 August 2022.

As the impacts of climate change ripple across the globe, lithium’s importance as a strategic mineral will increase exponentially to become an essential component for the clean energy systems of the future. The Latin America is the region of the world with the largest amount of lithium. Its so-called Lithium Triangle will inevitably become the nexus for the coveted mineral, which is often referred to as “ Mineral Commodity Summary. Of the world’s 86 million tons of identified lithium resources, Bolivia possesses 21 million tons, followed by Argentina with 19.3 million tons, and Chile with 9.6 million tons. While Chile has successfully transformed the majority of its available resources into economically viable reserves available for commercial production, Argentina and Bolivia have thus far failed to do so, largely due to unfavorable investment climates and more challenging geographic conditions. Given both the importance of lithium for the development of clean energy technologies and the vast quantity of commercially viable lithium reserves in the Lithium Triangle, the Biden administration has ample reason to collaborate with Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile in the fight against climate change. Indeed, much of the administration’s diplomatic approach to the Western Hemisphere takes place through the climate change lens. While a large part of the conversation on climate change and clean energy in Latin America centers The Lithium Triangle As a mineral, lithium can be found na...

A worker performs maintenance on pipes used during brine extraction at a lithium mine in the Atacama Desert in Chile on Aug. 24. Paz Olivares Droguett for NPR ATACAMA DESERT, Chile — In the middle of the desert in northern Chile, massive pools of Caribbean blue water sit next to what appear to be snowdrifts. But this is a lithium mine. The pools are filled with salty groundwater that contains lithium. It's a key component in the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, solar panels and other green technologies. "It's really, really a beautiful place," says Marcelo Valdebenito, a public relations officer for Albemarle Corp., the Charlotte, N.C.-based chemical company that operates the mine. "This is the lithium that powers the world." Indeed, the world is hungry for the silvery-white metal. The Left: Lithium mines extract groundwater brine that is 10 times saltier than seawater. It is evaporated over 18 months into a 6% lithium solution. Center: Piles of salt, a byproduct of the evaporation process. Right: A sample of lithium concentrate ready to be transported to a plant for purification. Paz Olivares Droguett for NPR hide caption toggle caption Paz Olivares Droguett for NPR Despite growing concerns about the environmental impact of lithium extraction, skyrocketing demand is good news for mining companies in Chile. The South American country is the second-largest lithium producer after Australia. And Argentina, Bolivia and Chile are known as the "lithium trian...

Countries in the so-called lithium triangle are in talks to propel themselves further down the battery supply chain as South America seeks to emerge from centuries of resource curses to tap the electric-vehicle revolution for all it can. Together, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia account for more than half of global lithium resources, with Chile the world’s No. 2 shipper of the silvery, white metal and Argentina one of the fastest-growing producers. While the three countries have so far seen limited success moving into higher-value lithium products -- let alone making batteries or cars -- that’s not deterring them from persisting, according to Argentina’s top mining official.