China becomes worrisome as Argentina, along with Bolivia, and Chile are planning to form an Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)-like arrangement to determine the production and pricing of lithium, as the global demand of the metal witnessed a surge for the past couple of years, Geoplotica reported.
Beijing is the largest manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries and accounts for 80 per cent of global lithium-ion battery manufacturing.
According to the US Geological Survey, Bolivia is home to 21 million tonnes of the 89 million tonnes that make up the world’s known lithium resources, while Argentina and Chile are responsible for around 32 per cent of global production which is also why China will now find it tough to continue its monopoly in the lithium market pricing.
Lithium is used to make rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, cameras, electric vehicles, heart pacemakers and toys.
According to analysts, Argentina is planning to use direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology along with Bolivia and Chile to emerge as a global supplier of metal.
There is an attempt in lithium-producing countries to increase the metal’s production and earn profits by hiking its price, Geopolitica reported citing the analysts.
Notably, Argentina is a highly vocal supporter of an OPEC-like arrangement and is also pushing for making the region a hub of the lithium supply chain.
Latin American countries are planning to increase production as well as develop their own lithium refining units.
China continues to dominate the rare earth elements around the world, while the west is pushing towards self-reliance in the procurement of scarce metals and minerals.
Furthermore, China holds more than 60 per cent of the world’s capacity for lithium refining but has less than 6 per cent of the world’s total lithium reserves. China does not produce a lot of the minerals and has instead invested heavily in other countries to acquire the raw materials it needs.