Bolivia president says lithium batteries could be exported by 2026

Bolivian President Luis Arce said on Tuesday the country may start exporting lithium batteries starting by 2026, as part of the government’s plan to industrialize its vast resources of the white metal, a key component for powering electric vehicles.
In an interview on local TV, Arce said direct extraction methods would help the country produce cathodes by 2025 and export lithium batteries by the start of the following year.
Bolivia’s salt flats are home to the world’s largest lithium resources at 21 million tonnes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but the country has almost no industrial production or commercially viable reserves.
Arce said his government plans to be involved not only in mining the metal, but also in commercial phases of its development.
The South American leader also renewed calls for for an alliance across the so-called lithium triangle, an area of sprawling salt flats also spanning Chile and Argentina that is estimated to hold more than half the world’s lithium resources.