MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lithium provinces want a slice of huge revenues

“There is an exorbitant increase in lithium prices at an international level,” Morales underlined

Argentina's Lithium Round Table convened Tuesday in Buenos Aires to discuss a proposal whereby the country would promote adding value to the extracting activity. The meeting was chaired by Jujuy Governor and Presidential hopeful Gerardo Morales, who warned that the participating provinces were being cast aside from the activity's large revenues.

Also making up the group are the provinces of Salta and Catamarca, and the National Government, which was represented by the National Secretariat of Strategic Affairs and the YPF's subsidiary Y-TEC.

During the meeting, it was agreed that lithium-producing companies should allocate a percentage of their output to industrialization and value addition in Argentina, particularly in the provinces producing the resource given the challenge of electromobility and the need for storage of renewable energies.

The Lithium Board expressed concern over the fact that the provinces were not participating in the extraordinary profits obtained by the companies, as a result of the considerable growth of the international price. Measures to reverse this situation are to be analyzed.

“We have decided to implement a debate and negotiations with the companies and to implement measures so that as much lithium as possible remains in the Argentine Republic for its industrialization for value-added projects. We have also raised our concern since there is an exorbitant increase in lithium prices at an international level, which does not match the income that the lithium provinces are receiving, an issue that we are going to discuss with the companies of Jujuy, Salta, and Catamarca,” Morales said.

The meeting was also attended by Governors Raúl Jalil (Catamarca), and Gustavo Saénz (Salta).