Santiago de Chile. Lithium is a strategic resource for the energy transition and our region has a privileged position in this global market, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Cepal) said in Chile today.
The Executive Secretary of this UN mechanism, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, presented the document “Lithium Extraction and Industrialization, Opportunities and Challenges for Latin America and the Caribbean”.
The text points out that the fundamental nature of this soft metal lies in its ability to contribute to the economic development of countries through value creation, increased exports, employment and tax collection.
Currently, the so-called “Lithium Triangle,” made up of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, plus Mexico, Peru, and Brazil to a lesser extent, concentrates 52 percent of the world’s exploitation opportunities in real terms.
Chile occupies a privileged position in this context, since it has 41 percent of the total reserves of the so-called “white gold”.
Salazar-Xirinachs explained that this comes at a very special time given the commitment to address global warming by replacing fossil fuels with other green energies.
Such a panorama offers a range of opportunities for countries rich in these resources, but also challenges and risks, the ECLAC text points out.
The benefits include the significant increase in the price of lithium, which has almost doubled in recent years thanks to the expansion of the battery industry based on this mineral and the expansion of the range of electrified vehicles.
Challenges include going from being a miner and exporter to making equipment using this material, particularly batteries, and even getting into the electric mobility industry, an industry that is still in its infancy in the region.
No less important, according to ECLAC, is addressing environmental and social issues, particularly meeting the needs of the communities living around the salt flats.
Standing out among the risks is the possibility of developing alternative technologies to replace lithium batteries or boosting the recycling industry to extend the life of current batteries, which would lead to a reduction in demand.
Each country also has specific problems to solve, such as B. the impact of extraction on the environment, especially in water use, timely consultation of the population, and establishment of a reasonable tax system to distribute the wealth gained fairly.
As the ECLAC Executive Secretary affirmed, it is not so much the application of better or worse models as the quality of management in the use of these resources.