(Unofficial translation provided by BHRC)

"Lithium contracts between China, Russia and Bolivia remain stalled", 13 July 2026

...Contracts signed by Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) with companies from China and Russia for the development of projects to extract this mineral remain stalled in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly (ALP).

...[T]his is the current status of the agreements signed between the Chinese consortium CBS and the Russian company Uranium One Group and YLB...

...[T]hese contracts remain at a standstill in the ALP due to a public interest action brought by 53 communities belonging to the Central Única Provincial de Comunidades Originarias de Nor Lípez (Cupconl), as well as an application for interim measures filed before the Agro-Environmental Court in 2025.

The claimant communities have raised concerns regarding the consultation process, access to information, and the potential impacts of the projects on natural resources, ecosystems and the territories where activities related to the extraction of evaporite deposits will take place.

In response, the Plurinational Constitutional Court (TCP) initiated a review of the case and requested technical and legal opinions from various institutions and specialised organisations acting as amicus curiae, including the Centre for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)...