{"id":168155,"date":"2024-07-01T16:19:17","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T20:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/noticias\/salar-de-uyuni-of-the-lithium-triangle\/"},"modified":"2024-07-02T19:22:35","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T23:52:35","slug":"salar-de-uyuni-of-the-lithium-triangle","status":"publish","type":"noticias","link":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/news\/salar-de-uyuni-of-the-lithium-triangle\/","title":{"rendered":"Salar de Uyuni: a natural treasure that harbors a large source of lithium"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The <strong>Salar de Uyuni, with an area of 10,582 km\u00b2<\/strong>, is the largest continuous high salt desert in the world. It is located at 3,650 meters above sea level in southwestern Bolivia, specifically in the province of Daniel Campos in the department of Potos\u00ed and in the province of Ladislao Cabrera in the department of Oruro.<\/p>\n\n<p>In addition to its dazzling expanse of salt, the Salar de Uyuni is known to be one of the most <a href=\"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/news\/lithium-reserves-chile-manos-european-union\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>one of the most important<\/strong> <strong>the world&#8217;s most important lithium reserves.<\/strong><\/a>. It also contains significant amounts of potassium, boron and magnesium. The salt layers are superimposed on a bed of brine and lake mud up to 120 meters deep. This brine includes valuable elements such as lithium, boron (borax), potassium, magnesium, carbonates and sodium sulfates.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.inspenet.com\/salar-de-uyuni-turistas-1024x576.webp\" alt=\"tourists in the Uyuni Salt Flat\" class=\"wp-image-168146\" style=\"width:684px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.inspenet.com\/salar-de-uyuni-turistas-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.inspenet.com\/salar-de-uyuni-turistas-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/cdn.inspenet.com\/salar-de-uyuni-turistas-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/cdn.inspenet.com\/salar-de-uyuni-turistas-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.inspenet.com\/salar-de-uyuni-turistas-624x351.webp 624w, https:\/\/cdn.inspenet.com\/salar-de-uyuni-turistas.webp 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Salar de Uyuni is a place that attracts many tourists. Source: shutterstock.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Salar de Uyuni is an important source of lithium<\/h2>\n\n<p>This site is particularly relevant for its richness in lithium, an essential mineral for the <strong>manufacture of batteries<\/strong> used in electronic devices and electric vehicles. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/news\/electric-vehicle-emission-reducing-vehicles\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"158346\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">electronic devices and electric vehicles.<\/a><\/strong>. Despite the difficulties in lithium extraction due to the scarcity of water in the region, this resource is considered strategic due to its importance in future technologies and clean energy.<\/p>\n\n<p>It is important to mention that the Salar de Uyuni is part of the &#8220;lithium triangle&#8221;.<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/articulo\/lithium-mining-extraction-importance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lithium triangle<\/a><\/strong>&#8220;together with the Salar de Atacama in Chile and the Salar del Hombre Muerto in Argentina. This region <strong>concentrates more than 85% of the planet&#8217;s known lithium reserves<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the lithium exploitation plants in the Uyuni Salt Flat<\/h2>\n\n<p>In December 2023, the company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) inaugurated the Lithium Carbonate Industrial Plant in Colcha K. K. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mhe.gob.bo\/2023\/12\/17\/planta-de-carbonato-de-litio-alcanzara-su-maxima-capacidad-de-produccion-en-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inaugurated the Lithium Carbonate Industrial Plant at Colcha K<\/a><\/strong>in the municipality of Llipi, Potos\u00ed. This plant, which marked the beginning of a series of industrial projects in the Uyuni, Pastos Grandes and Coipasa salt flats, was rebuilt starting in 2021 through a reengineering process. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mhe.gob.bo\/2023\/12\/11\/finaliza-la-reconstruccion-de-la-planta-de-carbonato-de-litio-y-esta-lista-para-su-inauguracion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rebuilt starting in 2021 through a reengineering process.<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<p>This plant has an annual production capacity of 15,000 tons of lithium carbonate, which will be obtained through evaporation pools. In its first phase, it is expected to produce up to 30% of this capacity, gradually increasing to reach its maximum level in 2025.<\/p>\n\n<p>It should be noted that YLB&#8217;s president, Karla Calder\u00f3n, has indicated that, in addition to the Colcha K plant, <strong>projects are underway<\/strong> projects in the Potos\u00ed and Oruro salt flats. These new facilities will use Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology with the objective of achieving a combined production of up to 100,000 tons.<\/p>\n\n<p>This expansion strategy is supported by agreements with international companies, including the Russian company <strong>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mhe.gob.bo\/2023\/12\/13\/ylb-y-la-rusa-uranium-one-group-firman-convenio-para-construir-una-planta-piloto-de-carbonato-de-litio-en-uyuni\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Uranium One Group<\/a>\n<\/strong> and China&#8217;s <strong>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/news\/bolivia-chinese-consortium-a-lithium-plant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CBC<\/a>\n<\/strong> and CITIC Guoan.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Follow us on social networks and don&#8217;t miss any of our publications!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@inspenet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">YouTube<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/inspenetnetwork\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/inspenetnetwork\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Facebook<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/inspenet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Inspenetnetwork\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">X<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Photo: shutterstock<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Salar de Uyuni contains a mineral known as ulexite, or &#8220;television stone&#8221;, which has the ability to refract images to the surface of the stone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8403,"featured_media":168123,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categoria_noticias":[13030,13060],"etiqueta_noticias":[],"class_list":["post-168155","noticias","type-noticias","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categoria_noticias-industry","categoria_noticias-mining"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/noticias\/168155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/noticias"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/noticias"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8403"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/noticias\/168155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"categoria_noticias","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categoria_noticias?post=168155"},{"taxonomy":"etiqueta_noticias","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspenet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/etiqueta_noticias?post=168155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}