Construction of industrial lithium plants in Bolivia still seen as far off

Bolivian state lithium company YLB is advancing with the construction of industrial lithium plants although completion is still far away.

YLB has agreements with Chinese consortium CBC, China’s Citic Guoan and Russia’s Uranium One Group to develop pilot plants scalable to industrial production with direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology.

The government of Luis Arce, which has promised to turn Bolivia into one of the main suppliers of lithium worldwide, seeks to use DLE technology as part of its salt flats industrialization policy.

Once the pilot plants are completed, the technology is tested and the respective contracts are signed, these must go to the legislative assembly for review and approval.

Héctor Córdova, former vice minister of mining and metallurgical productive development and now a private consultant, told BNamericas that at the moment Arce's government does not have enough votes for approval.

“The government has politically broken relations with the faction of the [ruling MAS] party controlled by former president Evo Morales and needs the votes of their assembly members. At this time, Arce does not have the votes that would be required to approve contracts,” Córdova said.

According to current legislation, in Bolivia every contract for non-renewable and strategic natural resources must be approved by the assembly.

However, a YLB source told BNamericas that sending the contracts to the legislature is unlikely to happen before 2026.

“Once the pilot plants are operational, the procedures will begin for the signing of contracts that make possible the construction of industrial plants, which must then be reviewed by the assembly. Most likely, this process will take place in 2026,” said the source, who asked not to be named.

Bolivia is due to hold general elections in November 2025.