Bolivia awards lithium carbonate contract to China's Maison
A consortium led by China's Maison Engineering won a contract to build a US$96mn lithium carbonate plant in Bolivia, the second contract to be awarded in the past month as part of the US$1.33bn Salar de Uyuni project.
Work will get underway on the 14-month contract "in coming weeks," energy minister Rafael Alarcón said in a broadcast press conference, without disclosing the other members of the consortium. The plant will produce up to 5,000t/y of battery grade lithium carbonate in a first stage, according to state-run Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB).
Maison beat rival bidders Hyundai Engineering, AMEC Foster Wheeler, Sacyr-Imasa, Sinosteel, GBM Minerals Engineering, MCC-JGGA,CEMC-ENFI, Intecsa Industrial and Graña y Montero for the contract, according to earlier reports.
The contract underscores China's growing presence in the region, with companies such as Sinosteel, China Three Gorges and China Natural Resources all lining up investments in Bolivia in recent years. The new-found bustle in the country's lithium industry also comes after lithium carbonate prices tripled over the past two years to US$21,000/t, according to deputy energy minister Luis Alberto Echazú.
Last month Bolivia awarded a contract to German engineering firm ACI Systems to build a lithium battery plant, part of a four stage project in which state mining company Comibol will hold a 51% stake. The project will create 1,200 jobs and is expected to generate US$1.1bn in annual income, according to YLB.
Comibol has invested US$66.6mn to date in the Salar de Uyuni project.
Bolivia has been trying to build a lithium project at Uyuni for decades, but to date has installed just a pilot plant. The project is designed to produce 50,000t/y of lithium, in addition to potassium chloride and magnesium chloride.
Uyuni is part of a government drive to invest US$2bn in the mining and metallurgical industries by 2020.
Subscribe to the leading business intelligence platform in Latin America with different tools for Providers, Contractors, Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance industries.
News in: Mining & Metals (Bolivia)
Bolivia expects to produce 3,000t of lithium carbonate this year at its Uyuni plant
Production is due to gradually increase until it reaches maximum capacity of 15,000t/y although YLB president Karla Calderón acknowledged that the ...
Bolivia qualifies 25 firms for lithium pilot plants
The companies were authorized after verifying compliance with administrative and legal requirements.
Subscribe to Latin America’s most trusted business intelligence platform.
Other projects in: Mining & Metals
Get critical information about thousands of Mining & Metals projects in Latin America: what stages they're in, capex, related companies, contacts and more.
- Project: San Cayetano Mining Project
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 years ago
- Project: El Llano Photovoltaic Park
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 years ago
- Project: Iván Plant Operational Continuity
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 years ago
- Project: Cabimas Photovoltaic Project
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 years ago
- Project: Sal de Vida (Stage 1)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: Fenix expansion
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: Amelia
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: Archibarca
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 week ago
- Project: La Borita
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: Corani
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
Other companies in: Mining & Metals (Bolivia)
Get critical information about thousands of Mining & Metals companies in Latin America: their projects, contacts, shareholders, related news and more.
- Company: Nomos Laboratorio
- Company: Bumigeme Inc.
- Company: IPE Bolivia SRL
- Company: Ziegel SRL
- Company: Eriez Magnetics
- Company: Mineral Engineering Processes Ltd.