Русский
Uranium One Group, a division of Russian SOE Rosatom, and Bolivia’s SOE Yacimientos de Litios Bolivianos (YLB) have signed a contract to build a lithium carbonate production plant at the Uyuni Salt Flat in Potosi, Bolivia, in the second half of 2025. Production will then gradually expand to eventually produce up to 14,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year, according to Rosatom.
YLB aims to position Bolivia as a leading global supplier of lithium, which is used in the pharmaceuticals industry to treat depression and other mental illnesses. There are also developing applications in the battery industry, and it is likely that Rosatom will piggyback battery storage technologies from the available Bolivian deposits.
Rosatom has been working with Bolivia for some time. In 2016 the parties signed an intergovernmental agreement to cooperate on the peaceful use of nuclear technology and the construction of a nuclear research and technology centre, with construction to be completed in early 2025.
Rosatom might also build a plant in Bolivia to manufacture energy storage devices, the company’s first deputy CEO, Kirill Komarov said at the Atomexpo 2024 exhibition.
The parties have also discussed the possibility of building small nuclear power plants in Bolivia.
Further Reading
