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2027","south-america-set-to-become-leading-lithium-producing-region-in-2027","article/south-america-set-to-become-leading-lithium-producing-region-in-2027",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":559,"content":569,"excerpt":676,"featured":50,"reporter":677,"_editable":681,"component":682,"seo_title":543,"categories":683,"visibility":689,"author_company":49,"featured_image":690,"seo_description":676,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":695,"formattedArticleDate":696},"3eaebdbe-4364-4c0d-9f8e-859b0c13b759","2024-02-08 00:00",[550,553,556],{"slug":551,"name":552},"argentina","Argentina",{"slug":554,"name":555},"australia","Australia",{"slug":557,"name":558},"chile","Chile",[560],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":563},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":564,"image":565,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":566},"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":570,"content":571},"doc",[572,579,594,599,611,618,623,628,633,646,658,663],{"type":573,"attrs":574,"content":575},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[576],{"text":577,"type":578},"South America is poised to become the world’s largest lithium producing region by 2027 as stable brine production in Chile, growing output in Argentina as well as new hard rock supplies from Brazil drive a surge of production.","text",{"type":573,"attrs":580,"content":581},{"textAlign":49},[582,584,592],{"text":583,"type":578},"Lithium supply from South America is set to increase to 30% of global supply in 2027, with the share of production from Australia, the world’s current top lithium producing country, set to fall to 29% that year, according to ",{"text":585,"type":578,"marks":586},"Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast",[587],{"type":588,"attrs":589},"link",{"href":590,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/lithium/reports/","url",{"text":593,"type":578},". By 2030 production from Australia is on track to represent 25% of global supply as production diversifies to other regions and countries.",{"type":573,"attrs":595,"content":596},{"textAlign":49},[597],{"text":598,"type":578},"“South America plays a key role in the lithium supply chain. In 2023 it was accountable for one-third of the global lithium mined output and the region currently holds over 60% of the global lithium resources and that is why it is so important for the lithium supply chain,” said Federico Gay, analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":573,"attrs":600,"content":601},{"textAlign":49},[602,604,609],{"text":603,"type":578},"Together, Chile and Argentina account for 90% of the region’s lithium supplies, according to the ",{"text":605,"type":578,"marks":606},"Benchmark Lithium Forecast",[607],{"type":588,"attrs":608},{"href":590,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},{"text":610,"type":578},", the bulk of which is produced in Chile. Argentina, however, is set to drive expansions in the region, with Benchmark forecasting that the country will be responsible for 53% of new South American supply out to 2027.",{"type":612,"attrs":613,"content":615},"heading",{"level":614,"textAlign":49},4,[616],{"text":617,"type":578},"South America’s strategic role in the lithium market",{"type":573,"attrs":619,"content":620},{"textAlign":49},[621],{"text":622,"type":578},"South America made up around 50% of the global mined supply in 2015 before rapid expansions in Australian hard rock supply in the late 2010s shifted the balance. Back then Chile was the only lithium producing country in South America. ",{"type":573,"attrs":624,"content":625},{"textAlign":49},[626],{"text":627,"type":578},"“Producing lithium from brine is a relatively cheaper process than hardrock. This makes South American salars more competitive on cost compared to other sources, but it also involves a higher capital cost to put into operation,” said Gay.",{"type":573,"attrs":629,"content":630},{"textAlign":49},[631],{"text":632,"type":578},"South America also hosts hard rock lithium production and Benchmark forecasts Brazil to contribute to 16% of the region’s output in 2027.",{"type":573,"attrs":634,"content":635},{"textAlign":49},[636,638,644],{"text":637,"type":578},"“Even with the ",{"text":639,"type":578,"marks":640},"current low lithium price environment",[641],{"type":588,"attrs":642},{"href":643,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/falling-lithium-prices-challenge-new-project-economics",{"text":645,"type":578},", the lithium industry in South America is evolving rapidly and the region will continue to be a strategic part in the supply chain in the foreseeable future,” he added.",{"type":573,"attrs":647,"content":648},{"textAlign":49},[649,651,656],{"text":650,"type":578},"The price rout in lithium is pushing an increasing number of companies to ",{"text":652,"type":578,"marks":653},"cut production or delay projects",[654],{"type":588,"attrs":655},{"href":643,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},{"text":657,"type":578},", raising questions about future incentive price levels and the sustainability of the current market.  ",{"type":573,"attrs":659,"content":660},{"textAlign":49},[661],{"text":662,"type":578},"Chile alone exported around $8 billion worth of lithium in 2022, representing 14% of the total mining exports from the country. Lithium exports from Argentina and Brazil in 2023 totaled $540 and $400 million, respectively, indicating the region’s reliance on mining on their economy.",{"type":573,"attrs":664,"content":665},{"textAlign":49},[666,668,674],{"text":667,"type":578},"The ",{"text":669,"type":578,"marks":670},"Benchmark Lithium Price Index",[671],{"type":588,"attrs":672},{"href":673,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium/portal/?tab=chart",{"text":675,"type":578}," has fallen 13.7% this year for the assessment period ended February 7 and is down 80.2% on a year-on-year basis.","South America is poised to become the world’s largest lithium producing region by 2027 as stable brine production in Chile, growing output in Argentina as well as new hard rock supplies from Brazil drive a surge of production. Lithium supply from South America is set to increase to 30% of global supply in 2027, with […]",[678],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":679},{"job_title":564,"image":680,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},{"filename":566},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3eaebdbe-4364-4c0d-9f8e-859b0c13b759\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[684,687],{"slug":685,"name":686},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":688,"name":8},"lithium","private",{"id":49,"alt":691,"name":691,"focus":691,"title":691,"source":691,"filename":692,"copyright":691,"fieldtype":693,"meta_data":694,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/499de64262/bm-lithium-extraction-pools-argentina.jpeg","asset",{"alt":691,"title":691,"source":691,"copyright":691},"Feb 08, 2024","8th February 2024",[],[],1783529651060]