MinerAndina reports: “In five years we can be the largest provider of a strategic resource such as lithium in the whole world”, said Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina, supporting responsible mining in northern Argentina, highlighting the importance of lithium mining.

Currently Argentina contributes around 40,000 t/y of the metal, which is 16% of the world’s supply, according to the Argentinian Ministry of Energy and Mining (MinEM).

Alongside Salva and Catamarca, Jujuy is one of the northeast provinces that have the greatest share of the country’s known lithium reserves. In fact, of the 53 projects that are soon expected to get into production, 48 are in these three provinces. It is an ecoregion denominated Puna, reports MinerAndina.

“Argentina can become the world’s leading lithium exporter”, says Tom Schneberger, VP of FMC Lithium, that through it subsidiary Minera del Altiplano, produces around 22,500 t/y of lithium in the Hombre Muerto de Catamarca Salt Flats.