"Todavía no tenemos respuestas concretas, la dificultad pasa porque no nos están ofreciendo en concreto industrializar el carbonato de litio, ese es el problema", informó Eugenio Mendoza, viceministro de Desarrollo Productivo Minero.
El funcionario argumentó que la política del Ejecutivo es industrializar el litio y, todos los recursos naturales, para dejar de lado al Estado productor sólo de materias primas.
Mendoza informó que tanto la empresa automotriz francesa Bolloré, como las empresas japonesas LG, Sumitomo y Mitsubishi, que conformaron una sociedad para un emprendimiento conjunto en el salar de Uyuni, pretenden explotar el litio como materia prima, situación con la que el Gobierno no está de acuerdo.
Mendoza explicó que la única proponente que se acerca al requerimiento del Gobierno es la francesa Bolloré, pero anticipó que la propuesta continuará en análisis.
"Inicialmente propusieron llegar al carbonato de litio juntos, y la política del Estado es que nosotros vamos a ir solos a la producción de carbonato de litio. Estamos esperando que ellos mejoren sus propuestas y nos propongan procesos de industrialización", remarcó.
La industrialización de litio, impulsada por el Gobierno del presidente Evo Morales con la construcción de una planta piloto para el tratamiento de salmueras en el Salar de Uyuni, despertó el interés de importantes fábricas de automóviles que desean invertir en el proyecto.
Para el Gobierno, si bien es importante mantener contacto con las firmas extranjeras, tomando en cuenta que la reserva de litio que posee el país es la más grande del mundo, lo que da amplio margen para las inversiones, es importante dejar en claro que tanto la planta piloto como la futura planta industrial de carbonato de litio será un esfuerzo netamente estatal, señaló el Viceministro de Desarrollo Productivo Minero.
El Ejecutivo boliviano se reunió el pasado jueves 4 de junio con una misión empresarial nipona, en la que había representantes de las firmas Mitsubishi, Sumitomo y Japan Oil, y con el embajador del Japón en el país, Kazuo Tanaka.
Echazú detalló que, en el encuentro, las compañías hicieron "planteamientos muy débiles en cuanto a la industrialización" del litio, uno de los aspectos prioritarios del Gobierno de Evo Morales en relación con las reservas del Salar de Uyuni.
El litio boliviano se halla en el Salar de Uyuni, que tiene una superficie de 10.000 kilómetros cuadrados, una profundidad de hasta 220 metros y que se ubica en la región andina de Potosí.
En este inmenso desierto de sal se encuentran, según el Gobierno boliviano, las mayores reservas mundiales de litio, metal necesario para fabricar baterías para los vehículos eléctricos.
El Estado boliviano ha construido en Uyuni una pequeña planta piloto para producir carbonato de litio en pequeñas cantidades, con el propósito de adquirir experiencia en la industria para luego ingresar a una fase de industrialización del metal.
Una fuente del Ministerio de Minería dijo que la propuesta de las empresas niponas plantea "empezar de cero" el proyecto y volver a instalar una planta piloto para la explotación del metal en escalas menores.
Además de compañías japonesas, industrias como la francesa Bolloré y la surcoreana LG han manifestado su interés por el litio boliviano.
Una misión comercial nipona, que incluye representantes de los grupos Mitsubishi, Sumitomo y Japan Oil, visitó la pasada semana el país latinoamericano, ocasión que aprovechó para hacer la propuesta sobre la operación.
Actualmente Chile es el mayor productor de litio, un material muy requerido por las grandes compañías japonesas del automóvil centradas recientemente en el diseño de nuevos modelos verdes o respetuosos con el medio ambiente.
——————–
Sumitomo sees bright zinc prospects in Bolivia’s San Cristobal
Although Bolivia’s San Cristobal struggled as a silver mine operated by the now defunct Apex Silver, new owner-operator Sumitomo is achieving good results from its zinc production.
Sumitomo plans to increase zinc production at the San Cristobal mine in Bolivia after the project turned a profit during the first quarter of this year, thanks to lower mining costs and higher metal prices.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Koichiro Yazaki, manager of the San Cristobal project, said zinc production this year will exceed the originally planned 225,000 metric tons of zinc, after ore processing increased 10% more than planned for April.
Last year’s zinc production was 204,000 tons last year and 69,000 tons in the past quarter.
Sumitomo gained full ownership of San Cristobal as former joint venture partner and mine operator Apex Silver declared bankruptcy, selling Sumitomo a 65% stake. San Cristobal is the sixth largest global producer of zinc and the third largest silver producer.
"We expect metal prices will probably increase from the current level although they may have difficulty returning to last year’s peak," Takahiro Izuta, Sumitomo’s corporate officer, told Bloomberg. "Prices will likely rebound in tandem with the recovery in global economies."
Concentrates proposed at San Cristobal are exported to Japan, South Korea, Spain, Belgium and Australia. About a third of production is bought by Japanese smelters while another one-third is shipped to South Korea. Yazaki said more than half of zinc and lead concentrates are sold under long-term contracts.
Sumitomo and Mitsubishi Corp. are also proposing a joint venture to mine the world’s largest lithium deposit in Bolivia, according to the country’s mining minister.
———————-
Mitsubishi, Sumitomo Propose Lithium Joint Venture in Bolivia
Mitsubishi Corp. and Sumitomo Corp. are proposing a joint venture to mine the world’s largest lithium deposit, Bolivia’s mining minister said.
The Japanese companies, which previously submitted separate proposals to the Bolivian government, are seeking to work together to mine the untapped resource, Mining Minister Luis Alberto Echazu said yesterday in an interview in La Paz. Lithium is used to make batteries.
The companies face competition from a French group made up of Bollore SA and Eramet SA, which last month presented a proposal to President Evo Morales. The government is requiring that offers include a commitment to manufacture batteries in Bolivia, a condition both groups accept, Echazu said.
“We’re evaluating both” proposals, he said. “They’re all prepared to follow the mining policies of Bolivia.”
Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, a salt flat located in Potosi province, has 5.4 million of the world’s 11 million metric tons of lithium reserves, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report. The Andean nation does not currently process or export lithium.
Echazu declined to provide details of the two proposals, saying they aren’t final.
Lacking Infrastructure
Bolivia lacks the infrastructure to produce, process and export lithium on its own, Echazu said. The country is South America’s second-poorest by per-capita income, according to the World Bank.
“We have to create the infrastructure,” he said. If companies “want everything to be ready when they get here, then they shouldn’t come.”
The Bolivian government is spending about $6 million to build an experimental lithium carbonate plant. Echazu said he expects the plant to be completed by year-end, and an industrial plant to produce lithium carbonate by the end of 2012.
The Bolivian government wants to sign a deal with private investors before the second plant is finished, Echazu said.
Jaime Cordoba, a spokesman at Mitsubishi’s branch in La Paz, declined to comment. Phones at Mitsubishi and Sumitomo’s Tokyo offices were not answered after normal business hours.
———————————
Low-Cost Lithium Sulfur Batteries Could Quadruple Life
When lithium-ion batteries were first introduced as replacements for older, heavier nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, they offered a breakthrough in greater energy density and lighter weight. This technology has made its way through the field of consumer electronics, and lithium-ion batteries are now ubiquitous. The next step in battery technology may come from the University of Waterloo, where Dr. Linda Nazar is working to develop lithium-sulfur batteries with promising characteristics including three to five times the storage of current lithium-ion batteries.
While most current electric vehicles and hybrids, including the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight, use NiMH batteries, lithium-ion is beginning in their next generation as well. The Tesla Roadster uses lithium-ion batteries as will the Chevy Volt. A lithium-sulfur battery of comparable weight for a vehicle could significantly extend its range, allowing for more flexible use in an all-electric mode. Or, with the increased energy density available, a vehicle with a similar range could be made significantly lighter through the use of a much smaller lithium-sulfur battery.
Sulfur is currently a component in other large scale storage systems, such as sodium-sulfur batteries, but those require high temperatures and are better suited to fixed location applications, such as grid storage, rather than for portable use. Lithium-sulfur batteries may make sulfur storage energy available in a more portable form.
The lithium sulfur batteries are created by creating assemblies of carbon nanorods that are coated with molten sulfur to fill the voids. The nanoscale structure sets up conditions to keep the sulfur in contact with the carbon, allowing for the repeated charging and discharging necessary for useful rechargeability.
Lithium sulfur batteries have the potential to significantly reduce the size of batteries because they have a higher energy density than other comparable lithium-based batteries.
“This composite material can supply up to nearly 80 percent of the theoretical capacity of sulphur, which is three times the energy density of lithium transition metal oxide cathodes, at reasonable rates with good cycling stability,” said Dr. Nazar.
Sulfur’s availability and low cost may help bring this technology to market. The research team has filed for patents on their process and are working on developing it commercially. According to a press release announcing the research publication, sulfur is a less-expensive material than many others used in lithium-based batteries. "It has always showed great promise as the ideal partner for a safe, low cost, long lasting rechargeable battery, exactly the kind of battery needed for energy storage and transportation in a low carbon emission energy economy."
