"It is used in making batteries to power everything from cellphones to electric cars.... the supply is of strategic importance.... fair to compare the lithium reserves in South America to the oil in the Middle East.... the OPEC of lithium"
Which explains why the U.S. is moving military forces into Colombia.
This next war is truly going to be a World War as the Western Hemisphere will also be a full battlefield this time.
"Tech-age buried treasure; Big lithium reserve could make Bolivia a key energy player, supplier to US battery makers" by David Abel, Globe Staff | February 15, 2010
SALAR DE UYUNI, Bolivia - On the edge of an evaporated sea, where the cracked white earth spreads for hundreds of miles over a desolate horizon, wood scaffolding surrounds the first buildings of a project that could transform South America’s poorest nation into the world’s key energy supplier.
Beneath this high desert in the Andes is about half the planet’s supply of lithium, dwarfing all other known sources of the rare mineral, which has experienced a surge in demand in recent years. It is used in making batteries to power everything from cellphones to electric cars.
The Bolivian government is about to launch a multimillion-dollar pilot project to bore into the pristine salt flats and mine the briny liquid below for the valuable element....
“This project is of huge strategic importance for Bolivia - and for the world,’’ said Moises Vallejos, the plant’s head of security, as he pointed to the new brick buildings that will house engineers and scientists who are expected to begin the process of mining lithium this year. “This is the start of something big.’’
Bolivia’s plans could also have a significant impact on Massachusetts, where companies such as A123 Systems Inc. in Watertown and Westborough’s Boston-Power Corp. rely on dependable sources of the lightweight, heat-resistant metal to build the lithium-ion batteries for the next generation of electronics and cars.
Related: Watertown Battery-Maker Pours Battery Acid in Boston-Power Wound
Game Report: Mass. Loses to Michigan
Maybe the Globe needs to get on some lithium, huh?
Much of the world’s lithium now comes from the smaller, increasingly depleted reserves in Chile and Argentina, but with millions of hybrid and electric vehicles planned for assembly lines from Detroit to Tokyo over the next decade, demand for the third element on the periodic table is expected to increase significantly....
Some have even suggested that the world supply may be insufficient to meet the expected demand of lithium-ion batteries.
Hey, that never stopped wrong-headed globalists before.
Officials at the two rapidly growing Massachusetts battery companies declined to say where they obtain their lithium, but they noted that the supply is of strategic importance to their future....
“The demand for lithium is going to explode,’’ said Jason Forcier, vice president of automotive solutions for A123 Systems, which last year received $249 million in federal stimulus money to build thousands of new lithium-ion batteries.
What a waste that stimuloot was, America. I told you it was tax loot given to agenda-pushing interests and that was all.
“It’s fair to compare the lithium reserves in South America to the oil in the Middle East. We see lithium-ion batteries as the power source for batteries for at least the next decade.’’
The need to secure a steady source of high-quality lithium has prompted car and electronics companies around the world to compete for exclusive rights to supplies. A subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. recently said it would spend tens of millions of dollars to help build a lithium plant in Argentina, and companies like China and France have sent representatives to Bolivia to meet with government officials in La Paz.
Where are the U.S. reps?
But so far, the administration of President Evo Morales, a recently reelected nationalist who frequently criticizes the United States and has nationalized Bolivia’s oil and natural gas industries, has refused to allow foreign companies to mine its lithium.
And that usually gets leaders down south in a lot of trouble with us!
See: Bolivian Coup Next For Obama
Morales Gets a Mandate
“We are doing this on our own - for the Bolivian people,’’ said Yolanda Mamani, a spokeswoman for the division of Comibol, the national agency that oversees mining projects, overseeing the pilot project. “The plans are for it to remain 100 percent Bolivian.’’
I can hear the calls for a coup all the way up here!
She declined to say whether US or other foreign firms would ultimately be allowed to help Bolivia mine its lithium, which may be necessary for it become a major supplier....
The slow pace of Bolivia’s efforts to mine the Salar de Uyuni does not worry Christina Lampe-Onnerud, chief executive of Boston-Power, which recently began mass producing lithium-ion batteries in China.
Why don't they call themselves China-Power then?
Related: Stimulus Fails to Jump-Start Battery Maker
More tax loot tossed away, America.
While Lampe-Onnerud noted a 2008 report by Meridian International Research, a French technology consulting firm, found that the global supply of high-quality lithium is insufficient to meet the demand of millions of new batteries, she said she doesn’t foresee a shortage in the next decade. She added that increased recycling of the silver-colored metal would reduce supply concerns.
“At this point, it’s highly speculative whether Bolivia will be the OPEC of lithium, or whether there will be a supply shortage.... But there’s no question that lithium-ion is the future,’’ she said....
For how long?
Some scientists have questioned whether lithium-ion batteries, which can be combustible under some conditions, are right for the coming fleets of electric cars. They wonder how they will hold up in crashes and over time.
Great, another ethanol debacle.
“It’s a dumb choice, because it’s so unstable and expensive,’’ said Don Sadoway, a materials chemistry professor at MIT whose research includes trying to find an alternative to lithium-ion batteries. “It’s delusional to pretend that you’re not going to take extreme measures to keep the battery cool. In an ideal world, I wouldn’t use lithium ion, but if this is the best way to move beyond the internal combustion engine, I support it, for now.’’
Sigh.
Why not pour ALL those TRILLIONS gone to wars and banks into a SOLAR CAR?
F***, why don't we just stick with oil for now since global warming is a lie!
The prospect that a new technology could make the lithium supplies in Bolivia irrelevant has prodded the country’s officials to expedite the $6 million pilot project near the village of Rio Grande on the edge of the Salar de Uyuni.
Then why the full article on th.... forget it, Glob.
In coming months, despite concerns about environmental impacts, the Bolivians will bore holes into the white crust until they reach the liquid containing lithium.
Yeah, $omehow money alway$ win$ out on that one.
They will then use industrial pumps to withdraw the brine, which will be collected in large pools where it can evaporate. The resulting slush will be processed into a fine powder and ultimately molded into small bricks.
In a poor region of a poor country, where paved roads are rare and electricity comes and goes, the prospect of a new industry and a new source of jobs excites local officials.
Yeah, let's hope it doesn't poison the water in the area.
While they worry about how large mining operations will affect the land, they are happy to compare their deserts with those in Saudi Arabia.
They usually pollute the crap out of it.
“We’re all waiting to see how this turns out,’’ said Francisco Quisbert, leader of Frutcas, a regional federation of local workers who some call Comrade Lithium. “We think this could create a whole new economy for us. It’s taken some time, but we’re very optimistic.’’
Until that first U.S. battalion hits Bolivian soil.
