Lawmakers in Mexico approved plans to nationalise the country’s lithium industry on April 21, reports International Banker.
Plans, tabled by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, were an amendment to existing mining law. They include:
- lithium exploration, exploitation and use will be reserved exclusively for the Mexican state
- all lithium exploration and development will be done by a decentralized state company to be established within 90 business days
- the Mexican Geological Service will be in charge of identifying potentially lithium-rich areas in Mexico
- all private lithium exploration and mining will be banned
Lithium is now classed as a ‘strategic mineral’. The US Geological Survey estimates Mexico has 1.7 million tons of lithium mining reserves, ranking 10th in the world, according to the report. Commercial production has not yet begun.
In Chile, the recently elected centre-left president, Gabriel Boric, has promised to create a state lithium company, the report adds.
- ABC News of Australia reports that US chemicals company Albemarle is considering a major expansion of its lithium refinery south of Perth. The rise in lithium prices has led to plans for a 1,000-bed capacity workers’ village.
