Bolivia boosts lithium resources estimate, cementing spot as global leader

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Bolivia’s president says the Andean country's total lithium resources have increased 2 million tons to a total of 23 million tons

LA PAZ, Bolivia — The total of Bolivia’s confirmed lithium resources has increased 2 million tons to 23 million tons, the Andean country’s president said Thursday.

The new estimate further cements Bolivia’s position as the country with the world's biggest known deposits of lithium, which is in high demand for use in batteries.

“We are the largest lithium reserve in the world, and we have to know how to manage it intelligently to exploit and transform this resource,” President Luis Arce said at the Coipasa salt flat, around 280 kilometers (175 miles) south of the capital of La Paz.

Bolivia has stepped up its search for international partners to help develop its lithium reserves at a time when demand for the metal is soaring amid the transition to renewable energy around the world and the growth in electric vehicles powered by lithium batteries.

The increase in the estimate of Bolivia's reserves came after further geological studies in the Coipasa and Pasto Grandes salt flats, Raul Mayta, vice minister of exploration and exploitation of energy resources, told the state television channel, Bolivia TV.

Arce is pushing to boost Bolivia's role in the international lithium market after 14 years of little progress that left it lagging behind neighboring Chile and Argentina. The three countries are home to an area that contains a large share of the world’s proven reserves of lithium.

Last month, Arce's government signed an agreement with China's Citic Guoan and Russia's Uranium One Group to exploit Bolivia's lithium deposits. Together, they promised to invest $1.4 billion for the construction of two