Lithium exports in Argentina reach record

Argentine lithium exports rose a record 225% year-on-year in the January-October period to US$539 million, according to the government's mining authorities.

95% of purchases were made by China, Japan, Korea and the United States.

The exported lithium is obtained from the operations in Salar de Olaroz and Salar del Hombre Muerto, which are located in the provinces of Jujuy and Catamarca, respectively. Between the two they achieve an annual production of about 47,500t/y.

The extraction in Olaroz is controlled by the local mining company Sales de Jujuy as part of a joint project involving the Australian Orocobre, the Japanese trading company Toyota Tsusho and state-run company JEMSE. US company Livent operates in Hombre Muerto.

Adding gold and silver and other mineral shipments, Argentine exports in the first 10 months of the year reached US$3.2 billion, in line with the total amount for all of 2021.