By Kathleen Bohné
Lithium—element number 3 on the periodic table—has the lowest density of all metals. Present in the primordial soup along with hydrogen and helium soon after The Big Bang, lithium is in the stars above us, the igneous rocks and waters beneath us, and in the battery of the device you’re using to read these words.
Identified by a Swedish chemist in 1817, lithium has proven to have many uses, from industry to medicine to soft drinks—did you know lithium carbonate was the “up” part of the original “7 Up”?
Lithium-ion rechargeable battery technology was commercialized in the early 1990s, and its first application was in camcorders and digital cameras. Along with all the portable electronic devices we’ve come to depend on, the transition to hybrid and electric vehicles has increased the demand for lithium: by 2040, the International Energy Agency predicts it will have increased 42 times relative to 2020 levels. The price of lithium soared in 2021, prompting a rush to invest in new mining projects and sparking what could be the defining geopolitical resource race of our era.
Today most lithium is mined in Chile, Australia and China, but “white gold” became a hot topic in Mexico during debates on President López Obrador’s energy reform bill this year. In 2018, a lithium deposit discovered in the deserts of Sonora was reported by the British/Chinese mining company Bacanora to be one of the largest in the world. AMLO and MORENA, defeated in their grander constitutional reform attempt, rushed through reforms of the “Ley Minera” on April 20 to nationalize lithium extraction. “The lithium is ours,” the president declared triumphantly. Indeed. But will it be worth claiming?
Lithium reserves are classified into three categories: salt pans, hard rock deposits and clay deposits. Using today’s technology, mining these various sources is resource-intensive and costly. Chilean lithium is mostly found in salt pans in the Atacama desert (the most arid place on Earth) and Australia’s in hard rock deposits. Mexico does not appear on the lists of the world’s largest lithium reserves because while it may have abundant lithium resources, these are not considered reserves unless extractable.
“Starting with the assumption we have significant lithium reserves in Mexico is not accurate,” notes Sergio Almazán, president of the Engineer’s Association of Mines, Metallurgists and Geologists of Mexico. “The concern is that in Mexico we don’t have any production now, we have clay deposits, and there is much yet to study…to see if his lithium can be extracted.” In July 2021, Tesla filed a patent on a new method of lithium extraction from clay that is purported to be less environmentally damaging—it takes an estimated 500,000 gallons of water to extract one metric ton of lithium—although it is not clear yet how efficient it will be compared to other methods.
There are 36 lithium mining concessions in Mexico today, all financed by foreign companies. On June 6, AMLO confirmed that existing contracts will be respected if they are “in order”, but that no further concessions will be granted since his government will create a state-run company to extract lithium. Massive investment—in capital, expertise and time—is needed to begin mining lithium: Bacanora began exploratory studies in Sonora in 2010 and is only slated to begin operations in 2023. Bolivia embarked on a similar adventure in nationalized lithium mining that has thus far led nowhere: “they put the lithium in government hands, it’s been fifteen years and nothing has been produced…the company is in debt,” explains Armando Alatorre, of the Engineering College of Mines, Metallurgists and Geologists of Mexico…
*Excerpts from the June 12 edition of “La Semana” newsletter. To read the full articles and subscribe, please visit www.themexpatriate.com.
