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“Once the construction and engineering development phase is completed, all the assets and knowledge acquired will be transferred to the state-owned YLB,” said the Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Franklin Molina.
The installation of industrial lithium carbonate production plants with Direct Lithium Extraction (EDL) technology in Bolivia will be carried out with direct foreign investment, using resources from companies that sign contracts with Bolivian Lithium Deposits (YLB). This was stated by the Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Franklin Molina, who also emphasized that “the associated investments will be at the expense and risk of the international companies involved in the execution of the projects. This clarification is important, because the State will not assume any initial costs.”
He explained that “subsequently, once the construction and engineering development phase is completed, all the assets and knowledge acquired will be transferred to the state-owned YLB. This approach not only minimizes the financial risk for the State, but also ensures that YLB benefits from the investments made and the technical knowledge acquired during the project implementation process.”
As an example, he mentioned that the 10 million US dollars that have already been invested by the companies in geological and other studies related to the implementation of EDL technology “do not come from YLB, but are at the expense and risk of foreign companies.” In the previous scheme, which relied on the evaporation system, “YLB was in charge of developing each of the projects itself: from the development of the pools to the construction of lithium carbonate and potassium chloride pilot plants, as well as other studies and infrastructure,” stated Molina.
In contrast, he confirmed in the new approach, which refers to the sovereign investment model with the application of EDL technology, the investment is maintained in the country once the entire investment has been recovered thanks to the benefits obtained from the production of lithium carbonate.
Currently, Bolivia promotes the industrialization of lithium with two technologies, EDL technology, and evaporation technology. In the first case, lithium carbonate recovery rates reach between 80% and 90%; while evaporation technology can recover between 30% and 40% of salt flat resources.
According to YLB projections, this year, including the contribution from the pilot plant, lithium carbonate production is expected to reach approximately 4,000 tons. |
