Bolivia state-owned Yacimientos de Litio Boliviano (YLB) has inked a deal with Russia’s Uranium One Group to build a $976-million direct lithium extraction (DLE) facility in the country’s vast Salar de Uyuni.
The plant will be the first of its kind in Bolivia, with an initial production of 1,000 tonnes a year, ramping up to 14,000 tonnes of certified battery-grade lithium annually, YLB president Omar Alarcón said during the signing ceremony.
The DLE facility in the world’s largest lithium-bearing salt flat, will be located at an altitude of 3,650 meters, spanning over 10,500 square km.
The battery metal will be mined by using Russian direct sorptive extraction technology, Rosatom’s subsidiary Uranium One said. Operations at the plant are expected to start in the second half of 2025, it added.
Alarcón noted that DLE technology offers a lithium recovery rate of over 80%, compared to only 12% with traditional evaporation ponds, such as those located in neighbouring Chile.
Another advantage, he said, is that the production process will not depend on weather conditions.
Uranium One, along with Chinese firms CBC and Citic Guoan Group, was selected last year through YLB’s first international tender to establish pilot DLE plants that will later scale up to industrial production.
Earlier this month, YLB announced that it had entered negotiations with CBC and Citic, two bidders shortlisted from a tender launched early this year, to install DLE plants in the Uyuni and Coipasa salt flats.
The tender seeks partners to develop DLE plants in seven of Bolivia’s 28 salt flats and it is part of President Luis Arce’s plans to position Bolivia as a major global lithium supplier.
The goal, he has said, is to export 50,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent annually.
“Bolivia has made a clear and sovereign decision to industrialize its lithium—we are doing it,” Arce said during the ceremony.
The South American landlocked country has a history of unfulfilled lithium dreams. It has tried and failed to develop its industry several times since the 1990s, producing only an accumulated 1,400 tonnes since 2018.
Political moves and red tape have further hindered the nation’s efforts. To advance the construction of industrial plants in Bolivia, bidding companies must first undertake prior, free, and informed consultation processes, along with comprehensive environmental impact assessments. This requires that they share detailed project information with local communities.
Following the completion of such procedures and the conclusion of contract negotiations between YLB and Chinese firms already involved in the local market, the agreements must be submitted to the legislative assembly for approval.
Analysts estimate that the contracts are unlikely to obtain the green light due to the existing political fragmentation within the assembly and the upcoming general elections in 2025.
While the country and YLB are focusing on DLE as the cornerstone of its industrial strategy, market experts caution that the technology remains underdeveloped for large-scale industrial application.
The state has invested more than $800 million in DLE over the past two-years, but only recently admitted to relatively poor results.
The Bolivian government estimates the nation’s lithium resources at 23 million tonnes, slightly higher than the 21 million tonnes calculated by the U.S. Geological Survey, making it the largest in the world.
