"The battle for lithium: US and China fight over Argentina’s white gold" 23 June 2024

...a new wave of mining activity has rocked the once prosperous mining town of Mina La Casualidad in Salta, the northwestern province of Argentina, this time caused by the intense lithium rush...

Argentina, the fourth largest lithium producer in the world, holds a fifth of the world’s reserves...As the country’s production soars, both Beijing and Washington want to take a piece of Argentina’s “white gold.”...Argentine government data shows that between 2020 and 2023, Chinese companies invested $3.2 billion in mining projects, including seven lithium projects — almost double that of U.S. companies, which financed three lithium projects...

The province of Salta, located at the heart of Argentina’s lithium mining boom, has attracted the largest amounts of Chinese mining investment in recent years...The mining rush is creating unprecedented job opportunities, but its impact on the environment worries many people. Some are reluctant to speak out against lithium mining for fear of retaliation from their neighbors, who make a living from the new industry...

In July, the province of Salta will inaugurate its first lithium mine: Centenario-Ratones, a joint venture between the French company Eramet and the Chinese firm Tsingshan...The project will implement an emerging lithium extraction technique, considered faster and greener, known as direct lithium extraction (DLE)...However, it has not yet been tested on a large scale...

The Centenario-Ratones mine reflects the growing importance of Chinese investments in the region...In March, Chinese company Ganfeng expanded its stake in Argentina's lithium by purchasing 15% of Lithium America's Pastos Grandes project...

For MacMurray Whale, a lithium specialist at Cormark Securities, Argentina’s nascent lithium market bodes well for Chinese companies. “These companies think long term,” he says...Additionally, Chinese companies tend to operate across the entire lithium production chain, making them less vulnerable to volatile markets and giving them an advantage over their Western counterparts...

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The volatility of lithium in global markets is being experienced first-hand in the province of Salta. The collapse in the price of the metal has caused delays in mining operations. Locally, some are concerned that the economic benefits that lithium has brought will not last. ...

The daily life of a miner is arduous. Workers describe 12-hour shifts alternating days and nights for 21 consecutive days, drilling wells up to a mile deep with temperatures reaching -18°C (-0.4ºF). “The sun, the wind consume you, and the salt from the salt flat burns your skin,” says one of them. ...