Executives representing large international producers and consumers of lithium have been visiting Argentina this year in hopes of tapping extensive reserves of the mineral, a key ingredient in electric-vehicle batteries, in the Puna, an arid plateau in the country’s northeast. They have gotten a warm welcome, with Argentine President Mauricio Macri forecasting a “revolution around lithium in the provinces of Salta, Jujuy and Catamarca.” The Macri administration hopes to attract US$1.5 billion in lithium-industry investment, the goal being to boost Argentina’s annual lithium production from the current 30,000 metric tons to the range of 100,000 to 130,000 metric tons. Currently, all of Argentina’s lithium is produced in just two locations: one in Jujuy province and the other in Catamarca province. In a... [Log in to read more]