Chile, along with Bolivia and Argentina, has the world’s largest lithium reserves. This represents a major comparative advantage for the region, given the strong demand projected for this metal, which is key to the energy transition. However, it is precisely these market prospects for lithium that are driving mining exploration in various parts of the world, as well as research to find materials and technologies that could replace it. 

One of the most significant blows to South American supremacy has come from the United States, where a study was recently published suggesting that a lithium deposit located in the McDermitt Volcano caldera, on the border between the states of Nevada and Oregon, could hold reserves of between 20 and 40 million metric tons of metallic lithium, more than Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, which until now has been considered the world’s largest lithium deposit.

The McDermitt volcano deposit is not just a potential resource. Among the team that participated in this new study are geologists from Lithium Americas, which is developing the Thacker Pass deposit at the southern end of the McDermitt Volcano caldera. The Thacker Pass project contains estimated reserves of 3.7 million metric tons of lithium equivalent. The company plans to begin production at the mine’s first phase in 2026, with 40,000 metric tons per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate in the first phase, to be expanded to 80,000 metric tons per year in the second phase (for reference, SQM is investing US$1.4 billion to expand its production and reach 210,000 metric tons per year of lithium carbonate by 2025).

In addition to Thacker Pass, Lithium Americas holds a 44.8% stake in the Cauchari-Olaroz project in Argentina, which began production in the middle of this year with an annual capacity of 40,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate; a 65% stake in the Sal de la Puna prospect; and a 100% stake in Pastos Grandes, also in Argentina. In fact, Lithium Americas’ shareholders approved the spin-off of the company into two entities, grouping the Thacker Pass project into one company and the Argentine assets into another.