Bolivian state-owned enterprise Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) and German sustainable-solutions specialist ACI Systems (ACISA) are collaborating to mine, process and commercialize Bolivia’s ten-million-ton Salar de Uyuni lithium deposit. ACISA intends to use the processed ore to produce cathode materials and battery systems.

The project is expected to create 500 to 1,000 direct jobs and up to 10,000 indirect jobs, and will use renewable energy where possible. Scoping has begun and will be complete in December 2018. Raw lithium production is expected to begin in the second half of 2021. One year later, the target annual production capacity target will be 35,000 to 40,000 tons of lithium hydroxide.

Another joint venture is scheduled to be formed by the end of this year – YLB will own a 51% stake in this project, which will perform environmental, economic and technical planning for the main project and associated project companies yet to be established.

Source: YLB via Green Car Congress
Image: psyberartist (CC BY 2.0)