Argentina Cordoba lithium battery pack

Argentina's first plant for lithium batteries will begin operations in September, using metal extracted locally by U.S. company Livent Corp, mining officials said. Livent had agreed earlier this year to supply lithium to the new plant, which was developed by Y-TEC, a unit of Argentine state oil firm YPF.

Said Roberto Salvarezza, president of Y-TEC, in a government statement, noting that the batteries will use lithium carbonate extracted by Livent in northern Argentina. Argentina is the world's fourth largest producer of lithium and has been attracting investment.

Four new projects will finally begin to churn out lithium in the weeks and months ahead, according to a yet-to-be released federal government time-line seen by Bloomberg News. That will almost double production capacity in Argentina, whose growth potential has long lured the attention of battery makers around the world.

Despite a flurry of prospecting and development, only three operations in Argentina currently export lithium. That's still enough to have established the country as a major producer behind Australia, neighbouring Chile and China. Of the three, only one is a newcomer — Minera Exar, which is majority owned by Ganfeng Lithium Group Co.

That will almost double production capacity in Argentina, whose growth potential has long lured the attention of battery makers around the world. For all the money that's poured into Argentina's giant lithium deposits, the country has seen just one new mine come on stream in almost a decade. That's about to change.

Spot prices of lithium carbonate in China have slid to the lowest since August 2021. Read more... Despite a flurry of prospecting and development, only three operations in Argentina currently export lithium. That's still enough to have established the country as a major producer behind Australia, neighbouring Chile and China.