The Argentine government is actively campaigning to create a working group with Chile and Bolivia to develop resources and advance the creation of a value chain for this metal, Fernanda Avila, Argentina's deputy mining secretary, told Bloomberg. to develop resources and advance in the creation of a value chain for this metal, Argentina's Undersecretary of Mining Fernanda Avila told Bloomberg. The ultimate goal is to eventually manufacture lithium batteries for electric vehicles in the region.. Two Chinese companies, Ganfeng Lithium and Gotion High-tech, have expressed interest in setting up battery factories in Argentina..

The initiative makes sense, given that Argentina has a large automotive industry. automotive industry established. Although smaller than those of Mexico or Brazil, anyway, Argentina manufactures around half a million units a year, including light and commercial vehicles.. Half of them are destined for the export market, with Brazil as its main customer.

In an effort to push for the electrification of the sector, the government of President Alberto Fernández sent to Congress Congress Congress a controversial legislative proposal that, among other things, would ban the sale of ban the sale of internal combustion vehicles in the country from 2041 onwards..

The formation of this working group with Chile and Bolivia is at a preliminary stage.. It aims to replicate the agreement between the three potential lithium-producing provinces in Argentina -Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca- to guarantee the promotion of investments for the production of lithium. lithium production.

Chile, Bolivia and Argentina have different policies for the exploitation of lithium.. While Bolivia is betting on the development of lithium mining through a majority State participation, in Chile, Argentina and Chile the resource is considered strategic and is administered by the state development agency Corfo, which establishes production quotas with lithium producers. The new government of President Gabriel Boric has shown signs of wanting to create a state-owned lithium company..

Despite being the country with the largest lithium reserves in the world, Bolivia has not been able to start commercial exploitation of the resource. Chile, on the other hand, is the second largest producer in the world.

Argentinaon the other hand, has a much more liberal approach to lithium development. In agreement with the provinces that hold the largest deposits - Argentina is a federal country and the provinces have a share in the production of its natural resources - Argentina has been promoting private investment in lithium production.Argentina has been encouraging private investment in lithium production.. Although it has only two deposits in operation and a third that is expected to start producing this year, in recent months several companies have announced plans to invest in the country's lithium deposits. several companies have announced plans to invest in lithium in Argentina.. The list includes the British Rio Tinto, the Canadian Lithium Americas, the Korean Posco and the Chinese Zijin. In this scenario, analysts expect Argentina's lithium production to grow strongly in the coming year.

Countries with the largest lithium reserves (mineral resources in millions of tons)

Source: US Geological Survey