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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":701,"relatedVideos":702},112398937928362,"2c21e052-3847-4840-aeb8-5be0e8587b8e","Licence cancellations could unlock Bolivia’s lithium potential","licence-cancellations-could-unlock-bolivias-lithium-potential","article/licence-cancellations-could-unlock-bolivias-lithium-potential",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":556,"content":566,"excerpt":678,"featured":51,"reporter":679,"_editable":683,"component":684,"seo_title":543,"categories":685,"visibility":694,"author_company":49,"featured_image":695,"seo_description":678,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":699,"formattedArticleDate":700},"a108fa5c-b774-4220-a07f-14cc40a8e11e","2025-08-29 00:00",[550,553],{"slug":551,"name":552},"bolivia","Bolivia",{"slug":554,"name":555},"policy","Policy",[557],{"slug":558,"name":559,"content":560},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":561,"image":562,"bio":564,"linkedin":565},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":563},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":567,"content":568},"doc",[569,586,591,603,608,613,620,625,633,638,643,648,653,658,663,668,673],{"type":570,"attrs":571,"content":572},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[573,576,584],{"text":574,"type":575},"Bolivia’s presidential hopeful Jorge Quiroga has pledged to cancel lithium extraction licences signed with Russian and Chinese companies, ","text",{"text":577,"type":575,"marks":578},"including CATL",[579],{"type":580,"attrs":581},"link",{"href":582,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":583},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/bolivia-chooses-chinese-consortium-led-by-catl-for-1-billion-lithium-investment","url",{"text":585,"type":575},", as he prepares for an October election run-off against another right-wing candidate. The result will see Bolivia elect its first right-wing president in nearly two decades.",{"type":570,"attrs":587,"content":588},{"textAlign":49},[589],{"text":590,"type":575},"With the country mired in economic crisis, the development of Bolivia’s lithium resources has been a central campaign issue. Quiroga said he would re-open the bidding process for lithium contracts, accusing the previous government over a lack of transparency in the tender process, and loosen the state’s control over its resources.",{"type":592,"attrs":593},"blok",{"id":594,"body":595},"a7d913ee-1d4b-4081-966a-dbf474d923da",[596],{"id":597,"_uid":598,"type":599,"_editable":600,"component":601,"fixed_height":602,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":602,"fixed_height_tablet":602},"24890533","i-242c3e15-02e2-4b86-b25f-b2ad27c39377","visualisation","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-242c3e15-02e2-4b86-b25f-b2ad27c39377\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","ContentFlourish","",{"type":570,"attrs":604,"content":605},{"textAlign":49},[606],{"text":607,"type":575},"Bolivia hosts some of the world’s largest undeveloped lithium resources. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that the Salar de Uyuni – the world’s largest salt flat – contains ~120Mt LCE.",{"type":570,"attrs":609,"content":610},{"textAlign":49},[611],{"text":612,"type":575},"However, Benchmark’s base case projects Bolivia’s production to reach just 7.5kt LCE by the early 2030s, negligible compared with neighbouring Argentina (~275kt) and Chile (~348kt).",{"type":614,"attrs":615,"content":617},"heading",{"level":616,"textAlign":49},4,[618],{"text":619,"type":575},"Bolivia’s lithium challenge",{"type":570,"attrs":621,"content":622},{"textAlign":49},[623],{"text":624,"type":575},"Despite the scale of its resource, extracting lithium in Bolivia faces multiple challenges. Brines average just 300–600ppm lithium and contain high impurity levels, making conventional extraction methods uneconomical. At the Uyuni salt flat, magnesium-to-lithium ratios of >20:1 leave direct lithium extraction (DLE) as the only viable option.",{"type":592,"attrs":626},{"id":627,"body":628},"ef1ee178-1705-49df-b170-0e15c5cc23dd",[629],{"id":630,"_uid":631,"type":599,"_editable":632,"component":601,"fixed_height":602,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":602,"fixed_height_tablet":602},"24890895","i-b63fb532-de6c-4b06-a91c-b09ec8f971d9","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-b63fb532-de6c-4b06-a91c-b09ec8f971d9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":570,"attrs":634,"content":635},{"textAlign":49},[636],{"text":637,"type":575},"Mining investment in Bolivia also has a chequered history. Several mining projects were nationalised after construction was completed, creating a long-standing perception that the country is a high risk jurisdiction for investors.",{"type":570,"attrs":639,"content":640},{"textAlign":49},[641],{"text":642,"type":575},"Two years ago, developers from Argentina (Tecpetrol) and the US (EnergyX) submitted bids in an open tender process but were rejected following claims of insufficient engineering data. Weeks later, contracts were awarded through a closed tender to Chinese and Russian companies, raising concerns over transparency.",{"type":570,"attrs":644,"content":645},{"textAlign":49},[646],{"text":647,"type":575},"The Fraser Institute’s Policy Perception Index – which measures mining executives’ views on the impact of government policies – ranked Bolivia in the bottom 10 jurisdictions globally for mining investment in 2024.",{"type":614,"attrs":649,"content":650},{"level":616,"textAlign":49},[651],{"text":652,"type":575},"One step backwards, two steps forward?",{"type":570,"attrs":654,"content":655},{"textAlign":49},[656],{"text":657,"type":575},"Although the possible cancellation of licences and unwinding of joint ventures suggests another setback in Bolivia’s decades-long industrialisation push, Benchmark notes that re-opening the tender could attract greater competition, new capital, and external expertise.",{"type":570,"attrs":659,"content":660},{"textAlign":49},[661],{"text":662,"type":575},"DLE technologies have advanced significantly in recent years. In China’s Qinghai and Argentina’s Hombre Muerto, adsorption-based processes have been pioneered, with Qinghai operating full-scale plants that integrate ion-exchange, membrane, and solvent technologies. Pilot and demo projects are also under way at salars, oilfields, and geothermal resources across Europe and North America.",{"type":570,"attrs":664,"content":665},{"textAlign":49},[666],{"text":667,"type":575},"Investment flows show growing momentum towards DLE. Benchmark’s Dealtracker recorded ~$300m in DLE-related transactions so far in 2025, led by Standard Lithium’s $225m US Department of Energy grant. This follows ~$250m of deals in 2024.",{"type":570,"attrs":669,"content":670},{"textAlign":49},[671],{"text":672,"type":575},"This trend runs counter to lithium’s weak price environment and highlights how DLE is increasingly viewed in the West as a path to both lower costs and diversify supply chains beyond China.",{"type":570,"attrs":674,"content":675},{"textAlign":49},[676],{"text":677,"type":575},"In this context, Quiroga’s plan may prove less of a retreat than a repositioning. If the country can attract partners with the right blend of financing and technological expertise, the world’s largest untapped lithium resource could finally start to be developed at scale. ","Bolivia’s presidential hopeful Jorge Quiroga has pledged to cancel lithium extraction licences signed with Russian and Chinese companies, including CATL, as he prepares for an October election run-off against another right-wing candidate. The result will see Bolivia elect its first right-wing president in nearly two decades. With the country mired in economic crisis, the development […]",[680],{"slug":558,"name":559,"content":681},{"job_title":561,"image":682,"bio":564,"linkedin":565},{"filename":563},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a108fa5c-b774-4220-a07f-14cc40a8e11e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[686,689,692],{"slug":687,"name":688},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":690,"name":691},"geopolitics","Geopolitics",{"slug":693,"name":8},"lithium","private",{"id":49,"alt":602,"name":602,"focus":602,"title":602,"source":602,"filename":696,"copyright":602,"fieldtype":697,"meta_data":698,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a231f31570/bm-bolivia.png","asset",{"alt":602,"title":602,"source":602,"copyright":602},"Aug 29, 2025","29th August 2025",[],[],1780670049820]