Mexico seeks lithium association with Argentina, Bolivia and Chile

Mexico is working with the governments of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile to create a lithium association so the countries can share their expertise in the battery mineral, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference on Tuesday. "We're going to work.

Mexico is working with the governments of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile to create a lithium association so the countries can share their expertise in the battery mineral, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference on Tuesday.

"We're going to work. We're already doing so together on development, on exploration, processing, new technologies," Lopez Obrador said. Mexico's Congress last month passed a bill to nationalize lithium, tightening control of strategic mineral resources, as Lopez Obrador said he would review all contracts to exploit the metal.

Critics have said Mexico already controls lithium production under the constitution and the reform could scare off investment in the country that does not yet have any commercial lithium production. Close to a dozen foreign companies hold contracts in Mexico to explore potential lithium deposits. The largest is a site in the northern state of Sonora run by Bacanora Lithium, which is controlled by Chinese firm Ganfeng Lithium Co.

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