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The largest lithium deposits in the world were discovered in Mexico, as listed by Mining Technology.
The report indicates that the lithium mine located in Sonora is the largest deposit with proven and probable reserves of 243.8 million tons, containing 4.5 million tonnes of lithium-carbonate equivalent.
Construction of the mine was first announced by Sonora Governor Claudia Pavlovich in May 2018 and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.
Production capacity in its first stage of operations is expected to be 15,500 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate, Mining Technology said, while capacity will double to 35,000 tonnes per year in a second stage.
The mine is being developed by Canada’s Bacanora Minerals and China’s Ganfeng Lithium.
Mexican Environment Secretary Víctor Manuel Toledo said that this would be Mexico’s “new oil.”
Potential lithium reserves have also been identified in Baja California, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas.
The metal, Toledo reporters at the presidential press conference, is “the base not just of computers but also storage batteries” for cell phones and electric cars, among other products.
Therefore, “Mexico should be capable of making electric cars in public factories,” he said, adding that the secretariats of the Environment and Energy are currently analyzing that possibility with Mexico’s “best experts” in the field.
“We’re also one of the richest counties in solar radiation and we’re going to be a country that exports energy to the United States and Latin America,” Toledo added.
“The two most important areas in Latin America for solar radiation are the northeast of Mexico, the deserts, and the border between Chile and Bolivia . . . We’re going to be a solar energy power.”
In recent days, members of the Sonora government have met with the Chinese capital mining company Ganfeng Lithium, who are looking to settle in the region to invest in that area.
“They have more than seven thousand employees and are very interested in coming in January, they come on a commercial mission to Sonora, because they are interested in being here seeing the possibility of installing to set up a battery factory,” said Jorge Vidal, the Economy Secretary of Sonora said.
Another application is in the military industry, since the use of lithium oxyhalide batteries were selected for use in air defense missiles and other programs in the United States.
A large pharmacological market has been potentiated, since the incorporation of metallic lithium and some compounds are used as catalysts in the production of analgesics, anti-cholesterol agents, antihistamines, contraceptives, sleep inducers, some types of steroids, tranquilizers, vitamin A and other products.
This puts Mexico in a very beneficial position regarding the future, since these technologies are in the middle of technological and economic progress currently.
At the same time, the situation in the country could be exploited by foreign actors, as Mexico has serious issues with its internal security due to the volatile situation with the cartels.
Economically, due to US tariffs, and various disputes with the United States, namely regarding the wall, as well as illegal migration, puts it in a position that its resources could be abused via US pressure.
Recently, US President Donald Trump has said that he is considering whether to designate the Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, which would also provide the US military with a precedent of a possible deployment of US troops along the border, and even beyond it, with the pretext of combating “terrorism.”
US aside, multinational corporations are also sure to set their sights on Mexico’s lithium deposits and are unlikely to have missed the resource’s importance for the future.
A protest against the government is also not out of the question, after all it even goes as far as to support “former” Bolivian President Evo Morales, who according to the OAS and the United States is “a villain.”
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Sounds like they need some freedom and democracy delivered from the US soon. How dare they have all the US’s lithium under their country?
lol. The Mexican druglords will also be taking a cut from that.
Crime goes, where money is.
The White House
They dont. If You look at productions as well as where more is to be found, this is just the neweest ones.
Mexico can expect a US Color Revolution very soon, combined with US Military ‘anti-terrorism operations INSIDE Mexico :)
It will be done for the sake of your electric car Florian. Oh, and if your batteries start smoking, don’t breath and fricking runaway. :0
Electric cars fail to do what cars are often wanted to do. Touring holidays in remote areas and travelling long distances etc. I would never want one and fortunately I am old enough not to be alive when this madness becomes compulsory.
Hydrogen power I could understand :)
The cars route themselves to the refill stations, you can go anywhere there is infrastructure for it just like gas cars. But the biggest innovation of electric vehicles is that they can go over 500,000 miles and they are faster and more powerful.
What about remote areas and areas where filling stations are sparse ? Electric cars also cost about twice as much.
I always keep a few gallons of fuel at home for emergencies.
EVs do not cost twice as much. And there’s basically ZERO maintenance on them. By the time you factor that in, plus the lower cost of “fuel”, you’ll save a bundle with an electric vehicle over the life of the car (500,000+ miles).
They cost about twice as much in the UK and electric cars and vans weigh about 500 t0 750 kilos more for the sape model with a diesel engine. When and IF electric cars are mandatory, you can be sure that any government will tax them as heavily as conventional cars now.
Here in the US, many states are implementing a heavy yearly registration fee on EVs and PHEVs. North Carolina is charging me an additional fee on my yearly registration equivalent to near 30,000 miles of driving and paying gas tax… We only put 8000 miles a year on our PHEV.
The moral being:- Don’t waste your money on an electric vehicle.
keep a couple of solar panels for everyday use and emergencys
They would be useless this winter :)
Sure…if it snows or rains every day (P.S.: modern solar panels generate energy even on cloudy days: just not as much).
Remote areas are a special case. You’re most likely use a specialty vehicle for remote hard to reach areas anyway.
Like a vehicle with a petrol or diesel engine perhaps ? :)
Like a vehicle with a petrol or diesel engine perhaps ?
Whatever it is, it’s not my daily driver anyway. Get it?
I doubt that you will get much delivered by robotic electric vehicles anyway. They will become easy and rich targets for thieves.
Have you priced EV’s lately? Where do you get the “twice as much” claim? I bet I can find an electrical outlet (even in Mexico) in a remote area faster than you can find a petrol station.
They also cost a fortune.
About twice as much, yes.
Beat me to it. But the DEA’s already running its own local government in Mex isn’t it?
Mexico has a government? Well, I’ll be damned…
I doubt it very much. Even with recent missteps (magnified by our… that is, Mexican… corporate press) by the government, and the first year of the 4th Transformation not managing to meet all the goats of undoing 36 years of neoliberalism at once, the present administration remains popular… the anti-government protests so far being groups of a dozen to a few hundred in Mexico City (where any demonstration of less than several thousand is considered minor)
Although the security issue remains a salient point for anti-government protests, the US attempts to “assist” Mexico spectacularly backfired, the victims themselves openly called treasonous by the media for their appeals to Washington.
AND… with the arrest IN THE UNITED STATES of former “Drug Czar” Garcia Luna, the entire apparatchiks of the former main party administrations (both PAN and PRI) are in disrepute, seen as toxic… leaving no credible force within the country that would support US backed intervention, let alone a fake “color revolution”.
Soon US will found a terror group there & provocate them into a huge pile of mess, watch it amigos.
Thats not needed. The crime rate in that region is very very high. They have to change methods and some escalation makes no change.
Many mexicans, americans and others dont see that at all. They could learn from countries having much lower crimerates and take the good parts from there in own versions.
In Denmark the crime rate is relative low, thats because we spend a lot of money in social security and education. By that we keep many out of jail and feel better about it. The netto price seemes to be a little less then countries putting many in jail too long for bad or good reasons.
Afghanistan deposits are much closer to China, and that is where the Americans have all the refining and production done anyway. Meh.
“all the refining and production”… You’re thinking of rare earths. Lithium is not a rare earth.
I’m thinking of both. They have both. Lithium must be purified (refined when extracted from either brines or rock, My point is Uncle Sugar likes to arrange things so as to have cheap or free resources, then gets the labor done for finished products done in PRC. Short term gains for global financial oligarchs.
Sounds like Mexico could use some more ‘Freedom’.
Electric cars go over 500,000 miles and are faster and more powerful with the same range.
Yes, several here dont see that prices of Lithium battries has gone down and there might be a next genration of batteries.
They also dont know how cheep electricity for them is compared with fossils as well as they make no dirty smoke and noise.
Maybe Mexico will move ahead of the USA since we are not doing anything to move ahead.
I think most Mexicans are planning to move INTO the USA. That’s the way they get ahead.
Its not like that. Mexico now have a very good production zone along the border to USA and by that in those matters a part of Western Economics.
So they join not only USA but the whole western Economics.
Unfortunatly Mexicand are very bad in handling other things – too much crime, too much crime, too much riots/local uprises.
What riots? There was a small uprising in a few communities in Oaxaca a few years back during the neo-liberal administration of Vicente Fox, but you are clueless about Mexico, its economy and its new (one year on) leftist administration and the 4th transformation.
Mafia/crime included.
USA actually are foing a lot but correct, many things seemes to need to be done in a different way.
Ups, maybe Mexico should consider to uh… help Trump asap to throw up this wall, not for keeping the eh…. refugees out, but to make shure the Yankikes have to climb that one, because this is way to close to the imperial banana republic to go unnotised, so be prepared to have an color revolution, you know, any exuse is an good one and now they have the drug cartels, the one Trump drooled something about was terrorists.
Electic cars, well, if you live an can comute sort range lets say under 50 km, and you have one of the tiny battery packs, aka cars like Renault, etc to Nissans, witch have an range loaded on 80-120 km its ok, because it uses aditional power to keep the AC going etc, to lights, and in the artics, the power consumption is even higher so the range shrinks, to maybe you have to re-charge the batterys before returning home, even when its not that lang range, but, if I want an battery pack, ranging from Telsa, Hunday to Volvos etc, etc, and others incl Mercs, the range I want is consdierably longer because of winter conditions and distances, and I have one range witch I would consider to be an minimum, because of not bothering to chagre the shit every bloody day, and I also would have to travel to Sweden every month and go back and forth witch alone is 260km, and then, if not, only comuting, since I have an short range, wouldnt have to charge the shit more than ones a week and that means it must have batterys to cover over 300 km, and many of the above mentioned brands do have that, and intermidiate range to but I have put the red line on 350 km, pr, charge. But again, it depends on use, and if you dont use it much, so why bother to buy an car with more than whats nessesery, I wouldnt, so you have options of this brands that you can have an range of battery packages witch reflects the price range and drive range. And 4 AWD sucks power, and since I dont have an cabin in the montains, I dont have use of it. But an big one, with max battery package, and 4 WD weights around 2.5 to 3 tonns, heavy shit. And eats tires, faster that usually, but if you can aford an idioticly priced heep of shit, tires are just scraps anyway.
BUT; the longivety, is something thats most dont talk about, 5 years, and you may have to replace the batterys, and that can cost half off the original car price, just as you know it, etc, thats why, an used battery care, if not done the service, incl if it have an long milage, its simply out of the question and I dont even consider one, because of the cost, then buying an new one is more relevant. But for now, I have an diesel, an jap suv, and I am happy with it. And I am not in any way, in an hurry to buy an battery pack. I would first have some other things, like an snow mover, lawn mover, equimpents for gardening and chopping smal trees, and a BIKE, an combo, bicycle and battery, etc, etc, some of the lawn, snow, have the same battery etc, to drills and so on, this is high on my wish list and since most of it is new, I have awited to this year to buy what I need, it helps me to because of my back problems, regarding battery driven snow movers etc. This things are getting better and better, and now, everybody (brands) have them, incl high end brands of carpender equipments etc.
peace
I recommend that the cartels and the Mexican military mend fences and team up against any foreign actors with Corporation interests in this newly found resource. Whatever problems with each other need to be set aside so they can team up against a greater set of foreign Corporation enemies. This lithium deposit makes USA, European countries and possibly Asian countries potential political and military meddlers in the Mexican Government and manipulators of the common Mexican citizens. Hey, I live in the USA, and if I say USA is a potential foreign invader of Mexico over this resources giant, then Mexico better listen to me. Someone can translate my message to spanish and blast it over Social media and make sure that the cartel groups and the Mexican Government read what I’m saying. Arm yourselves, Mexico!! The beast is coming!!
Yepp, prepare for invasion. Why a US senator already announced that the US might send troops to Mexico… eerrhhh… fighting drug trafficking (yes, which is overseen by the US, but never mind).
Looks like Mexico will be getting some “Democracy” next. ? ???
Memo to the USA… “no lithium for you” …… you snooze, you lose… and with help from the Caro Quintero Organization of Sonora, or simply ‘Sonora Cartel’, the Chinese will arrange to have it sewed up nice n tight.
The gangbangers control the avocados, gasoline tankers, Diputados, the local jefe at the cop shop…..so just latch onto the lith……..
Bingo while AMLO spins
another target for USA grand theft lithium.