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Argentina tripled its lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) production capacity in the last two years, driven by new projects that have boosted installed capacity to 136,500 tons nationwide, the country’s Chamber of Mining Entrepreneurs (CAEM) reported on Tuesday.
Argentina, the world’s No. 4 lithium producer, has four projects in production, including the Centenario Ratones plant in the northern province of Salta, a joint venture between France’s Eramet and Chinese steelmaker Tsingshan.
The plant, inaugurated earlier this month, aims to produce 24,000 tons per year of LCE by 2025, helping to narrow the gap with Chile, Latin America’s top producer of the ultra-light metal essential for making electric vehicle batteries.
“The recent inauguration of Centenario Ratones, the fourth lithium production plant in our country and the first in Salta, adds to a series of new projects and expansions that tripled installed capacity in just two years,” CAEM said in a statement.
Production potential in Argentina went from 37,500 tons of LCE in 2022 to 136,500 tons, according to the chamber.
Argentina sits inside South America’s so-called “lithium triangle” with Chile and Bolivia and is looking to increase output with a slate of new projects set to come online later this year.
(By Lucila Sigal and Stéphanie Hamel; Editing by Lucinda Elliott and Rosalba O’Brien)
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