Latin America Accelerates Lithium Project Development In Bid to Attract Investment. Sigma Lithium, with projects in Brazil's Minas Gerais state, is one of the companies leading exploration in the region.
Fernandes pointed out that this should change, as China and Russia have committed to accelerating lithium carbonate production in the Andean country, with investments of more than $1 billion. Within the fierce global competition, Sigma Lithium ( SGML) CEO Ana Cabral-Gardner noted that the raw material itself is not rare.
Currently, the royalty paid for lithium extraction in the country is 40% of the export price, considered one of the highest in the world. President Gabriel Boric has announced that the country will nationalize the lithium industry, transferring existing operations to a state-owned company in the future.
The so-called ‘lithium valley’ is made up of 14 cities. Currently, Companhia Brasileira de Lítio (CBL) is operating in Jequitinhonha, as well as AMG, which already produces lithium concentrate in the region. Other companies such as Latin Resources, Atlas Lithium and Lithium Ionic operate in the mineral drilling program.
KPMG’s energy and natural resources leader in Latin America, Manuel Fernandes, told Bloomberg Línea that, from a geographical point of view, the map of large lithium reserves has been changing.