Due to the limited supply of domestic lithium resources, battery-related companies in China have stepped up their competition for outside lithium sources.
Responding to a tweet on July 13 saying there is no security without energy independence, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote, “Absolutely. And lithium batteries are the new oil.”
The production of this “new oil” is inseparable from lithium ore resources. In recent years, Chinese companies have stepped up the acquisition of lithium mines around the world, and thereby expanded their control over the upstream resources of the electric vehicle (EV) industry chain.
On July 11 , China’s Ganfeng Lithium announced that it would acquire a 100 percent stake in Argentina’s mining group Lithea for $962 million. Lithea is mainly engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of lithium mines. The company owns two salt lake assets, Pozuelos and Pastos Grandes, also known as the PPG lithium project, in the mineral-rich Salta province of Argentina….