The Chinese corporation Citic Guoan has “the firm intention” of entering the production of cathodes and lithium batteries, but building a vehicle factory for the distribution of its production in the region and which also opens the possibility of advancing in electromobility, said the president of Bolivian Lithium Deposits (YLB), Carlos Ramos.
Citic Guoan, which belongs to the Citic Group of China, and Russia’s Uranium One Group Company, a branch of the RosAtom Corporation, signed agreements last week with YLB to industrialize the Bolivian lithium.
“On the subject of electromobility, a vehicle factory in the country (…) is a matter of study and analysis, which we are also going to do together with the Citic Guoan company,” said Ramos, who added that the feasibility of supplying the regional market on the basis of this possible project.
Bolivian President Luis Arce, highlighted the investment of 2,8 billion dollars for the consolidation of the industrialization of Bolivian lithium by signing agreements with companies from Russia and China, which will intervene in the Uyuni salt flats and Pastos Grandes, department of Potosí.
“In January we had signed an agreement with the CBC company for an investment of 1.4 billion (…) Between the two companies, we have an agreement with each of them totaling approximately another 1.4 billion,” Arce said.
The Bolivian lithium industry finds a special opportunity in the growth of electromobility on a global scale thanks to the fact that Bolivia has the largest lithium reserves in the world in Uyuni (more than 20 million tons in brine) valued at 42 billion dollars.
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