"China could overtake Chile as the second largest lithium producer by 2030" -3 August 2021-.

Report detected a "relatively small portfolio of projects" in [Chile] to add capacity. First it was Australia that displaced Chile to second place in lithium production, and in the next few years it will be China that leaves us in third place. This is what is portrayed in the report by the international consultancy CRU, entitled Changes in the demand for minerals, commissioned by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in the framework of the activities of the Regional Cooperation Programme for the Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources in the Andean Countries (MinSus). According to the document, while in 2015 Australia produced 36% of the lithium supply, Chile had 35%, Argentina 12% and China 8%. In 2030, the first of these countries is expected to account for 44%, followed by the Asian giant with 20%, while Chile would go to 15%. "Chile has a relatively small portfolio of projects," says the document, which estimates that the country's total supply could reach 234,000 tonnes LCE, led by the expansion of SQM and Albemarle in Atacama. The Asian giant has been growing in production and, according to the document, displaced Argentina from third place in 2019. A relevant point is that the existing production capacity is not able to meet the demand of the market projections in the medium and long term. On the demand side, China is also the most relevant player. It already accounts for around 55% of demand and should reach 66% by the end of the decade…