Shanghai (China), June 3 (EFECOM).- The Chinese manufacturer of battery components CNGR would be interested in acquiring stakes in lithium brine deposits in Argentina to strengthen its supply chain abroad, Bloomberg reports this Monday.
This medium, which cites anonymous sources, points out that senior executives of the company made visits last week to at least three fields in Argentina, including Jama, in the province of Jujuy, and Rincón, in Salta. .
CNGR, Tesla’s supplier, already acquired 90% of the Solaroz lithium project -located in Jujuy- in April after paying around $63 million to the Australian Lithium Energy, an agreement whose structure would be replicated in possible new acquisitions in the region.
Argentina, whose northwestern area covers part of the so-called ‘lithium triangle’, is the fourth largest world producer of this material (behind Australia, Chile and China), the third in reserves (behind Chile and Australia) and the second in resources (behind Bolivia).
Numerous Chinese companies have shown interest in Argentina due to the strong demand for lithium derived mainly from the flourishing electric vehicle sector, which has translated into investments by companies such as Tibet Summit Resources, Tsingshan or Ganfeng Lithium.
The latter, the number one producer of lithium carbonate in the Asian country, announced in March an agreement to buy 15% of an exploitation project in northern Argentina for about 70 million dollars.
Although the price of lithium has plummeted more than 80% from its record level at the end of 2022, this has also translated, according to some analysts, into opportunities for companies seeking to acquire holdings to consolidate their sources of supply. EFECOM
vec/aa/sbb
