The United Arab Emirates has joined the list of countries that have invested hundreds of millions into Argentina’s lithium industry.
Dubai’s United Mining Projects Corporation (UMPC) announced allocating over C$750 million to developing an expansive battery metal project in the Catamarca province last week. That sum will be used over a four-year construction period ending in 2028.
The company says it took two years of negotiations with government officials and others to make it a reality.
“It will be one of the projects at the forefront of national lithium production,” UMPC Founder Bradley Pielsticker said.
The company’s subsidiary Marhen Lithium S.A. will develop the site. It expects to generate around 700 jobs during its construction phase while contributing about C$230 million to the local economy.
Twenty-three per cent of Argentina’s mining exports last year were attributable to lithium. There are currently five other projects in the Catamarca, Jujuy and Salta provinces that are expected to enter the production phase within the next two years.
Catamarca produces most of the country’s lithium. It generates about 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent annually.