Bolivia evaluating bidders for Uyuni lithium project

Companies from China, Russia and Germany are among those jostling for the opportunity to develop Bolivia's lithium reserves, an official said.

Bolivia's President Evo Morales has been trying for years to line up investors for state mining company Comibol's 10,000km2 Salar de Uyuni lithium carbonate project as part of a bid to industrialize the country's commodities-dependent economy.

At least 26 companies from countries that also include Finland, Spain and South Korea are interested in bidding for the contract, said the head of Comibol's evaporated resources unit, Juan Carlos Montenegro. The government will take about two weeks to select pre-qualified companies for the bidding process, local newspaper La Razón cited Montenegro as saying.

Energy minister Rafael Alarcón is coordinating a series of lithium projects in the country with Russia, Moscow's ambassador to La Paz, Alexei Sazonov, told state Radio Patria Nueva.

Bolivia has been trying to build a US$900mn lithium project at Uyuni for decades, but to date has installed just a pilot plant. The project is designed to produce 50,000t/y of lithium, in addition to potassium chloride and magnesium chloride.

Lithium is used to make batteries, while potassium chloride is used in the fertilizer and pharmaceutical industries and magnesium chloride is used in animal feed, textiles and cement.