MEXICO CITY – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador mentioned on Tuesday his administration will problem a name for US and Canadian corporations to take part within the nation’s incipient lithium market.
Mexico doesn’t but have industrial lithium manufacturing, although near a dozen international corporations maintain contracts to discover potential deposits.
“In all instances there have to be associations of the general public firm with non-public entities and we are not looking for lithium to be taken out of Sonora,” he mentioned at an everyday information convention, referring to authorities plans to take advantage of the mineral within the northern Mexican state.
The function of international corporations shall be centered in constructing infrastructure and state entities will maintain the bulk stakes within the initiatives, he added.
Lithium shall be used for functions such because the manufacturing of electrical automobile batteries, however solely factories put in in Sonora will have the ability to make the most of the mineral, Lopez Obrador famous.
The president has urged the non-public sector to work with the brand new state miner, saying the scale of the funding wanted means the federal government wants companions.
Nonetheless, analysts argue that corporations usually tend to focus near-term investments in Chile or Argentina’s sprawling salt flats, the place industries are extra established and insurance policies extra market-friendly.
Lopez Obrador nationalized Mexico’s lithium deposits in April, hoping to money in on surging demand for the steel.
Although Mexico doesn’t at present produce lithium, the finance ministry estimated the worth of Sonora lithium reserves at $600-billion.
