China's main
lithium producer
, mining company Ganfeng Lithium, announced that it plans to buy a
14.8% stake in the Pastos Grandes project in the province of Salta
.
Currently, this venture is operated by the Argentine subsidiary of the Canadian mining company
Millennial Lithium Corp.
The disbursement planned by the Chinese company is
US$70 million
.
And the proceeds will be mainly used for the development of the Pastos Grandes salt lake project, Ganfeng said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
The project is located in the same basin as Sal de la Puna, also owned by the Chinese mining company and
100 kilometers from the Caucharí-Olaroz project
- the largest in the country - controlled by the Argentine company Minera Exar.
This firm is formed by Lithium Argentina, Ganfeng and Jemse (Jujuy Energía y Minería Sociedad del Estado).
"While we prioritize the Caucharí-Olaroz project, which is already among the largest lithium brine operations in Argentina, the transaction further strengthens our balance sheet and enhances our growth plans by
leveraging our existing equipment and nearby operations
," John Kanellitsas, interim CEO and president of the Canadian mining company, said in a statement.
The agreement was announced in a context of growing interest in lithium, a resource used in the creation of batteries for electric cars and for the electronics industry.
A good part of the lithium development scheme in the coming years, as explained by the companies,
is to sell this product to the terminals and battery production plants located in China
, which in turn have contracts with international companies such as BMW. , Volkswagen, LG, Samsung, which are large multinationals.
For its part, Ganfeng is a lithium supplier for electric vehicle producers such as
Tesla,
which will now reinforce "the design of its lithium resources" and its resource self-sufficiency, according to the Chinese company.
As highlighted by the companies in a statement, with the support of Lithium Argentina, Ganfeng
plans to explore direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to complement the
conventional solar evaporation process currently used in Pastos Grandes.
This methodology for mineral extraction is
more ecological
because it consumes less energy and other chemical reagents and has a
lower cost.
The Chinese take over the Puna
The Chinese mining company also invested in other projects in Salta, such as
Mariana
, managed by the local subsidiary Litio Minera Argentina;
in
Incahuasi,
operated by the local subsidiary Ganfeng Litio Argentina;
and in
Sal de la Puna
, under the control of the company's strategic partner Arena Minerals.
Argentina is the fourth largest lithium producer in the world
behind Australia, Chile and China.
At the same time, it has 20% of the reserves of the Lithium Triangle, the area that forms part of Bolivia and Chile that has 50% of the resource worldwide.
More than 50% of the investments in mining in the country are from
Chinese capital
, particularly in the lithium market, for which it is also
the main destination of exports
with 40% of shipments, above Japan, Korea and the United States.
NE