Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest potential source of lithium, although it is not currently producing. Uyuni has a total surface area of 9,000 to 10,500 km2
and contains a layer of halite with interstitial brine that is enriched
in lithium, potassium, magnesium, and boron. Concentrations of lithium
in this brine are reported in the literature range from 80 ppm to 4,700
ppm. COMIBOL has drilled two test holes, which identified 11 salt-brine
layers separated by clay layers totalling 170 meters in thickness.
Further evaluation is needed to determine the extent of these separate
horizons that could produce lithium economically. A pilot mining and
processing project was started in May 2008. Recent
estimates for Uyuni’s lithium resources range from 0.6 to 9.0 Mt.
Tahil’s estimate is the most conservative, at 0.6 Mt, whereas estimates
by Anstett el al, Garrett,
Clarke and Harben, Yaksic and Tilton,and Evans (2008), are between 5
and 5.5Mt. Evans (2009) and Risacher and Fritz round out the top end of
the range, at 8.9 to 9 Mt.
President Evo Morales said in October 2017 that Bolivia will invest as much as $200 million to develop the Andean nation's lithium deposits and that La Paz would welcome private partners in the effort as long as they accept the government's claim to 60 percent of the revenues. At a news conference with international media, Morales referred to expressions of interest from Japan's Mitsubishi and Sumitomo, South Korean conglomerate LG and France's Bollore.
President Evo Morales said in October 2017 that Bolivia will invest as much as $200 million to develop the Andean nation's lithium deposits and that La Paz would welcome private partners in the effort as long as they accept the government's claim to 60 percent of the revenues. At a news conference with international media, Morales referred to expressions of interest from Japan's Mitsubishi and Sumitomo, South Korean conglomerate LG and France's Bollore.
