Bolivia's Lithium Quandary

In one of the more remote regions on the planet, high in the Andes, lies the Salar de Uyuni, the famed salt flats stretch across more than 4,000 square miles in Potosi, Bolivia, well known for the fabulous wealth in silver extracted there by the Spanish in colonial times. Now a new age of mining could bring a 21st century El Dorado for the impoverished South American nation, as geologists believe that more than half the world’s reserves of lithium may lie under the salt pans.

Government officials claim that Bolivia possesses the world’s biggest lithium reserves, and they also believe the country is poised to profit from car manufacturers which are driving to develop electric cars that will run on lithium ion batteries.

“Bolivia will become a big producer in six years of batteries,” Luis Alberto Echazu, the minister of mining and metallurgy, said in an interview. He ticked off three companies that he said have expressed interest in investing in the government’s lithium venture: Sumitomo, Mitsubishi and Bollore, a French company.

More from this article at MyStockVoice