The United Arab Emirates has joined the list of countries that have invested hundreds of millions into Argentina’s lithium industry.
Dubai’s United Mining Projects Corporation (UMPC) announced allocating over C$750 million to developing an expansive battery metal project in the Catamarca province last week. That sum will be used over a four-year construction period ending in 2028.
The company says it took two years of negotiations with government officials and others to make it a reality.
“It will be one of the projects at the forefront of national lithium production,” UMPC Founder Bradley Pielsticker said.
The company’s subsidiary Marhen Lithium S.A. will develop the site. It expects to generate around 700 jobs during its construction phase while contributing about C$230 million to the local economy.
Twenty-three per cent of Argentina’s mining exports last year were attributable to lithium. There are currently five other projects in the Catamarca, Jujuy and Salta provinces that are expected to enter the production phase within the next two years.
Catamarca produces most of the country’s lithium. It generates about 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent annually.
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Global lithium interest stimulates Argentina’s struggling economy
An assortment of other international miners have made substantial investments in the nation’s lithium brine resources recently.
These include Rio Tinto Group (ASX: RIO), which just spent C$479 million to establish a local lithium carbonate plant; and China’s Ganfeng Lithium (SHE: 002460), which invested US$70 million for a 15 per cent stake in the Pastos Grandes operation primarily owned by Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (TSX: LAAC).
Furthermore, the Israeli company XtraLit, the French mining giant Eramet S.A. (EPA: ERA) and India’s KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Ltd) have all sunk several millions into producing Argentine battery chemicals.
Canada’s Lithium South Development Corporation (TSX-V: LIS) (OTCQB: LISMF) (Frankfurt: OGPQ) is currently developing a C$1.25 billion operation in Salta too. The company is now expanding its well installation program and experimenting with alternative extraction methods.
Lithium South Development Corporation is a sponsor of Mugglehead news coverage
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