American Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit South America this week to discuss global concerns with top diplomats in the continent.
He made his departure Tuesday morning prior to scheduled meetings with Argentine leader Javier Milei and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Blinken will attend a gathering of G20 foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro.
Key discussion points with Milei will include major global concerns like the escalating war in the Middle East, a humanitarian crisis in Haiti and the transition to cleaner energy. Critical minerals will be another significant topic.
They will “discuss sustainable economic growth, our shared commitment to human rights and democratic governance, critical minerals, and enhancing trade and investment,” the U.S. State Department said.
“In Brasilia, Secretary Blinken will meet with Lula da Silva to discuss bilateral and global issues.”
Antony Blinken abordará la situación electoral y democrática de Venezuela con Lula y Milei https://t.co/YgmyqlfR3o
— Monitoreamos (@monitoreamos) February 18, 2024
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Argentina’s economy slides, mining industry thrives
The economy in Argentina is in crisis and its poverty rate has hit a 20-year high at about 57.4 per cent. That is according to a recent study by the Argentine Catholic University.
The rate of poverty has risen by over 12 per cent between the beginning of Q3 last year and this week alone, the Buenos Aires Herald reported.
Despite troubling statistics like these, the nation’s mining industry has seen an unprecedented rate of investments in the past couple years. In 2022, the country’s mining sector attracted more dollars from investors than any other year since 2012.
Government officials from Argentina recently travelled to Europe and Israel to foster cooperation on development of critical minerals like lithium in the country. Moreover, some analysts have projected that the nation’s annual revenue from lithium exports will increase immensely in the coming years.
Major companies like Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), Arcadium Lithium plc (NYSE: ALTM) (ASX: LTM) and POSCO (KRX: 005490) have been capitalizing on this opportunity. Junior resource developers like Lithium South Development Corporation (TSX-V: LIS) (OTCQB: LISMF) (Frankfurt: OGPQ) are becoming increasingly prominent in the nation’s industry as well.
Stellantis invested US$90 million in the junior miner Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp. (TSX-V: LIT) (OTC: PNXLF) last fall to help secure a steady supply of the battery metal for its electric vehicles.
The price of lithium has sunk immensely in the past year. However, Argentina’s industry shows no signs of slowing.
“While the pricing environment has softened for the moment, we should not lose sight of the fact that we continue to see significant long-term growth in demand for limited supply,” Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) chief executive Kent Masters told analysts recently.
Albemarle operates the Antofalla project in the country’s Catamarca province.
Lithium South Development Corporation is a sponsor of Mugglehead news coverage
rowan@mugglehead.com
