Resumen de Bolivia ring fences lithium and potash for state miners
Bolivia's mining industry was nationalised following the country's 1952 National Revolution, but until now, many of Bolivia's largest mines, which mainly exploit copper, silver and tin, have been operated as partnerships between exchange-listed multinational firms and small domestic cooperatives.
State-owned Corporacion Minera de Bolivia (COMIBOL), which was also created in 1952, has been developing both lithium and potash projects at Salar de Uyuni in southern Bolivia, supported since 2012 by a joint venture (JV) with a consortium of Korean companies, including Posco and Korea Resources Corp. (KORES).
Latin American economist and lithium expert, Juan Carlos Zuleta, recently told IM that Bolivia's decision to protect its lithium reserves for domestic exploitation has prevented the country from realising its potential as a lithium supplier, because of the lack of domestic expertise in lithium chemistry.
