Evo Morales Changes View on Lithium Exploitation, May Go Solo

The increasing reports on electric car developments and Lithium-ion batteries seem to have changed the Bolivian state officials' perception about their newly found gold mine.

We previously reported that the country led by Evo Morales was looking for a foreign partner to manufacture lithium batteries and eventually assemble battery-powered cars. Well, not anymore.

According to a recent AFP report, Bolivia wants to go solo on the exploitation of its massive Lithium reserves.

"In reality, what the state wants is to have the industrial plant with its own resources. It doesn't matter whether we have to look for financial support from a bank or some other entity," Freddy Beltran, director general of the Mining Ministry, was quoted by AFP as saying in an interview for the La Razon newspaper.

Moreover, the government is currently building a plant in the Andean region of Uyuni that will produce lithium carbonate. The facility is scheduled to commence operations next year.

The companies negotiating with Evo Morales for the Lithium exploitation included the Bollore Group, Sumitomo and Mitsubishi.

Although there isn't a single electric car in Bolivia, the country has no less than 73 million metric tons of lithium carbonate which is more than half the world's supply. As a matter of fact, the largest deposit is to be found at the Salar de Uyuni, a vast 4,085-square-mile (6,575-sq-km) salt desert in the southern Potosi region.