According to foreign media reports, Argentine President Javier Milei stated on a program that Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the US government have shown interest in Argentina’s lithium reserves.
Milei revealed, “I received a call from Elon Musk. He is very interested in lithium, as is the US government and many American companies. However, they need a legal framework to ensure that property rights are respected.”
Data from the US Geological Survey shows that Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia account for 56% of the world’s lithium reserves, with Argentina and Chile making up about 32% of global lithium production.
Milei defeated the Minister of Economy Sergio Massa in the second round of the Argentine presidential election on November 19 and was sworn in as President of Argentina on December 10. After taking office, he implemented a series of radical reforms to address the country’s economic problems, which caused dissatisfaction among most of the populace.
Milei also stated on December 20 that he had signed a decree containing over 300 reforms to open up the country’s economy. This decree was scheduled for parliamentary review on December 26.
Tesla and Musk have consistently focused on lithium resources and lithium refining.
On May 8, Tesla broke ground on a lithium refining plant in Texas, USA, which will propel Tesla beyond its core focus on car production into the complex field of lithium refining and processing.
Musk stated that Tesla aims to complete the construction of the plant next year and then reach full production in about a year. At that time, Tesla will become the only mainstream automaker in North America that independently refines lithium.
By 2025, the output of lithium metal from this plant will be sufficient to supply about 1 million electric vehicles, making Tesla the largest lithium material processor in North America.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Musk said, “Looking ahead to the next few years, a fundamental bottleneck in the development of electric vehicles is the availability of battery-grade lithium.”
[Source – 上海有色网] 阿根廷总统:马斯克对该国锂储量感兴趣 https://news.smm.cn/news/102546757