Peru targets local lithium battery production, official says
LIMA - Peru wants to produce lithium batteries domestically, a government official said on Wednesday, joining other Latin American nations with lofty ambitions to industrialize their resources of the ultralight metal needed to power electric vehicles.
"We are already starting to act to see if we can develop a battery industry," said Jaime Chavez, Peru's vice minister of mines, at the Perumin mining industry conference.
Peru is the world's No. 2 copper producer and an attractive destination for global miners. It has some lithium deposits in the southern region of Puno which are currently being explored by American Lithium.
But those deposits are significantly smaller than those in the so-called Lithium Triangle, made up of Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
Batteries made from the ultralight metal lithium are key to meeting the growing demand for electric vehicles as part of a transition away from combustion engines.
"We have a lot of reserves and we think this is an opportunity and a challenge to carry out (lithium) extraction and value-added production," Chavez said.
To be sure, Peru currently produces no lithium and no country in Latin America produces lithium batteries at a commercial scale even if they do mine lithium.
Chile and Argentina rank as the world's No. 2 and No. 4 top producers of unrefined lithium, respectively. Bolivia has the world's largest lithium resources but has for years struggled to mine them at a commercial scale.
Mexico nationalized its lithium resources earlier this year and announced a state lithium mining company but has yet to start lithium production.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Weir Minerals Europe, Middle East and Africa is a global supplier of excellent minerals solutions, including pumps, valves, hydrocyclones,...
VISIT SHOWROOM
SBS® Tanks is a leading provider of innovative water security solutions with offices in Southern Africa, East and West Africa, the USA and an...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
