The news went virtually unnoticed yesterday, beyond the media specializing in environmental information: Mexico announced on Monday that it was nationalizing its lithium reserves. In all, 230,000 hectares They are declared state property, with a view to the exploitation of an essential mineral for the manufacture of electric batteries and therefore key to the energy transition which no one wants to miss.
Despite the fact that Mexico has significant reserves of this mineral, the truth is that most of the planet’s lithium is found further south. Specifically, divided between Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. In a portion of land known as the lithium triangle, 85% of the known reserves of this mineral that exist on the entire planet are concentrated.
The lithium triangle is located in the middle of a vast sleeve that covers a good part of what is called arid diagonal of South America, on the western side of the continent. A vast territory that has unique geological characteristics in the world. It is there, between the saltworks of Hombre Muerto, Antofalla and Arizaro (Argentina), the saltworks of Atacama (Chile) and the saltworks of Uyuni (Bolivia), that large multinationals fight with governments locals to take control of the mines.
A lot is at stake. It is estimated that in the lithium triangle there is as much lithium as there is oil in Saudi Arabia. And the demand keeps growing. According to the Statista data platform, in 2019 it reached 263,000 tons, which increased to 327,000 in 2020 and 465,000 in 2021. According to its calculations, in 2030 demand will be 2.1 million tons. And they will be more and more. News such as the recent European ban on the sale of diesel and petrol vehicles by 2035 points in this direction.
From Chile to Caceres
Currently, mines in Chile and Argentina operate under private initiative. In the case of Bolivia, the one responsible for doing so is the public company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos, which has had a monopoly since 2008. All these companies, public or private, They export lithium to the countries of the European Union, but also to powers such as Russia or China.
In the rest of the world, although much less, there is also lithium. Australia concentrates 5.7%, China 1.5% and the United States 0.9%. Quantities far removed from those found in the South American lithium triangle, but which cause significant movements of governments and businesses trying to gain positions in a race that no one wants to lose.
And Spain? Yes: our country also has lithium reserves. In Valdeflores, a few kilometers from the center of Caceres, is the largest deposit on the peninsula and the second in all of Europe. However, its exploitation by the Australian multinational Infinity Lithium, which has been fighting for years to start extracting lithium from the place, is facing frontal opposition from many neighbors and major environmental groups, which have collected thousands of signatures. against the project. They assure that it would end in the main lung of the city and in an area of incalculable environmental value. A situation that puts the debate on ecological transition and how to deal with it while respecting the planet back on the table.