Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) assured that based on the stabilization and quantification of parameters, which are under warranty by the manufacturer, the following actions will increase production of the industrial plant.
The state corporation explained that this result will be influenced by the quantity and quality of the raw material, provided by the lines of industrial evaporation pools that operate “partially and with operational problems.”
The institutional note recalled that currently the “pools do not work optimally, the serial process is interrupted, in the salt production lines, which affects the quality and quantity of the raw material obtained.”
Located in Uyuni, Potosí department, the Lithium Carbonate Industrial Plant began operations in December 2023, after a reengineering process carried out by Bolivian YLB personnel, in response to technical observations regarding the project design.
The Bolivian corporation insists that the new industry is in the process of stabilization and will gradually increase its production until it reaches maximum capacity of 15 thousand metric tons per year.
YLB maintains that, currently, continuous monitoring is being carried out of the process of increasing productivity and the “good execution of work” of the Lithium Carbonate Industrial Plant, which has a three-year construction guarantee.
As of December 27, the Bolivian firm has developed pool repair projects and direct lithium extraction (EDL) projects, which do not require the use of pools and improve the operation of the production process, with the corresponding gradual increase in the availability of raw material with a view to increasing production in the coming years.
“By 2025, the production of potassium chloride and lithium carbonate will grow gradually -YLB predicts- thanks to the new policies of the national Government, confirming the stabilization and increase of production of the industrial plant.”
Likewise, YLB is working on the diversification of products, including magnesium chloride, other qualities of potassium chloride and the production of livestock salt, it was reported.
The authorities reiterate that Bolivia is betting on the implementation of EDL technology, through partnership and service contracts with international companies, an innovation that will allow a significant increase in production volumes in less time, because it does not require evaporation in pools.
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