Chinese battery maker and technology company Ningde Times said it will invest $1.4 billion to develop two lithium extraction plants in Bolivia.

The plants will be built in the country's Uyuni and Coipasa salt Flats and will be equipped with direct lithium extraction technology. The goal of the Ningde era was to develop Bolivia's vast but largely untapped lithium reserves.

Bolivia's energy ministry said construction of two lithium extraction plants could begin as early as July 2023.

Bolivian President Luis Arce said that we met with Burton Roy, CEO of the Investment Committee of the CatL Times Company, to confirm the investment of $1.4 billion USD in the construction of two plants with EDL technology in the Uyuni and Coipasa Salt Flats.

Arce also said that the government will analyze the progress of the two projects and the possibility of increasing investment to advance and optimize production more efficiently until 2028. The lithium extraction plant is expected to produce nearly 200,000 tons of lithium per year during the initial phase of operations.

The investment plan of the CatL Era comes after Bolivia signed an agreement with the CatL Era BRUNP and CMOC through Yacimientos del Litio Bolivianos.

According to the US Geological Survey, the amount of lithium resources in the Bolivian salt flats is estimated at 21 million tons, although there are hardly any industrially produced or commercially viable reserves.Editor/XingWentao