The state institution appointed the companies Catl Brunp & Cmoc, Fusion Enertech, EnergyX, Lilac Solutions, Citic Guoan / Crig, TBEA Group, Uranium One Group and Tecpetrol, added the Deputy Minister of High Energy Technologies, Álvaro Arnez.
The state entity of Bolivia, the country with the world’s largest lithium reserves, selected these companies from a total of 20 that submitted to a public call, “all with a high status in this technology,” the authority said.
Arnez explained that the chosen corporations will be delivered for the experimental process Bolivian brines from the well-known salt flats (salt concentrations, which include lithium), from Uyuni, Coipasa and Pastos Grandes.
The chosen companies – he argued – have to start from these samples for the pilot process and with that specificity deliver the feasibility results on the separation of lithium between these brines.
According to the authority, YLB specialists will make two in-depth evaluations of the eight companies, one on the performance of mineral extraction and the other on the environmental impact “to enter into harmony with nature.”
The authorities will accept the companies only if they present returns between 92 and 95 percent, parameters that, if breached by the eight chosen, will cause them to be replaced by other applicants.
YLB executives will not disburse funds for the direct extraction of lithium, because, according to the agreements, international companies are the ones that will invest in this procedure, he said.
The state institution will publish the preliminary results of the extraction tests with each of those companies within six months (in April 2022), added the Vice Minister.
According to experts, areas of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile make up the main reserve of lithium in brine in the world, which arouses international interest in this resource, essential for cell phone batteries and other electronic devices.
Salt brines, often located under dry lake beds, are underground reservoirs with high concentrations of salts, including lithium, potassium, and sodium.
msm / apb
