Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Mexican States

08/05/2022 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/06/2022 06:13

In Bolivia, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard visits the Uyuni salt flats, the largest lithium deposit in the world

In Bolivia, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard visits the Uyuni salt flats, the largest lithium deposit in the world

The Foreign Secretary receives the keys to the city of Uyuni

Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores | August 05, 2022

Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard visits the Uyuni salt flats, the largest lithium deposit in the world
  • The Foreign Secretary received the keys to the city of Uyuni and was declared a distinguished guest
  • With the Bolivian foreign minister, he toured the lithium deposits industrial complex
  • Mexico and Bolivia are strengthening their partnership to collaborate on lithium

During his trip to Bolivia and in the company of Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard visited the Uyuni salt flats, a desert with the largest brine-type lithium reserves in the world.

In addition, Uyuni Mayor Eusebio López Martínez presented Secretary Ebrard with the keys to the city and declared him an honored guest, as a sign of the ties of friendship and cooperation that unite both peoples.

"Mexico, like Bolivia, and especially Uyuni, has large reserves of lithium, a strategic mineral that will be key to the future of global electromobility," said Foreign Secretary Ebrard.

"Our countries and the region have a great challenge: to tap into the enormous possibilities that they offer and develop this opportunity as a united region to better position ourselves at the international level," he added.

Along with Bolivian Foreign Minister Mayta and the Executive President of Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB), Carlos Ramos Mamani, Foreign Secretary Ebrard toured the YLB industrial complex to learn about the operation of the four plants that make up the complex: the salt production plant (evaporation pools), the potassium chloride industrial plant and finished product warehouses, construction of the lithium carbonate industrial plant and the lithium ion battery pilot plant.

This meeting and the talks held with Bolivian officials will promote binational cooperation on lithium and tap into Bolivia's experience with the production, distribution and marketing of the strategic mineral, and contribute to the regional dialogue and cooperation with other countries with lithium reserves.

During the tour, the Mexican and Bolivian officials reiterated their commitment to redouble their efforts to conclude the negotiation of the new legal instruments agreed in a 2021 Letter of Intent between Mexico and Bolivia: a Framework Agreement between the National Council for Science and Technology ( Conacyt) and YLB; and a Memorandum of Understanding between the Mexican and Bolivian energy ministries on the creation of the Mexican-Bolivian binational institute for cooperation on lithium.

They also agreed on the importance of promoting forums for analysis and reflection with other Latin American countries that possess lithium reserves to promote greater integration and regional complementarity as part of the stages of development: exploratory, productive, extraction, exploration, and marketing.

To this end, Mexico will promote the creation of an informal or permanent forum for regional dialogue and cooperation with the ability to influence international prices.

Bolivia invited Mexico to participate in the First International Lithium Congress, which will take place in November with the participation of regional authorities and partners from other regions.

Building on Bolivia's vast experience, Mexico will pursue the joint manufacturing of lithium batteries. Both countries agreed that lithium compounds are key elements for the global energy transition, including electric vehicles, given that the international demand for lithium has increased exponentially.

Latin America is a strategic player in this mineral, with more than 62% of the world's lithium reserves. Bolivia ranks first in Latin America for brine reserves, while Mexico is among the top five countries with lithium reserves in the region and is in the initial stages of creating a state company for the exploration and exploitation of lithium.