A recent push in the plan of the Government of our country to cancel the concessions of Ganfeng Lithium has forced the Chinese company to indefinitely postpone its goal of starting extract metal for batteries in the north of the countrya company executive told Reuters.
Mining authorities have issued a notice to Ganfeng’s local subsidiaries indicating that nine of its concessions had been cancelled, saying it had not met minimum investment requirements, the company said in an August report.
“Once the Government informed us of its intention to undertake these actions, the development calendar changed,” he declared on Wednesday. Peter Secker, head of the Sonora Lithium project, and added that the mining company cannot continue with its plans until the differences are resolved, for which there is no clear calendar.
Construction works of the production plant Ganfeng in the state Sonoravalued at 800 million dollarshave not started, which already made the goal of starting the activity in 2023 unattainable even without the government challenge.
Lithiumessential component of the electric vehiclesis coveted by manufacturers of rechargeable batteries from around the world. In Mexico, a large part of the metal reserves are trapped in clay deposits, which makes its extraction difficult, and the country does not currently produce it.
Secker stated that the construction of the production plant in Sonoran, It will last 18 months and he explained that it will start working right after, adding that the only factor that is now stopping its start is the government measure.
The plants to produce and recycle batteries will be part of a larger project, which will be built later.
The executive denied the mining authority’s accusation about the company’s alleged lack of investment. “We have exceeded the minimum required expenditure,” declared Secker, who added that the company will use all available legal resources to challenge the measure and avoid a cancellation.
López Obrador’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the concessions situation. Furthermore, last year the president Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced a wide nationalization of lithium, said in September that the country’s concessions for the metal were being reviewed.
Secker pointed out that the only clause in the license that the Government questions is the minimum investment.
It would be absurd for the Government not to work with Ganfeng to develop a strategy
Peter Secker, head of the Sonora Lithium project
Ganfeng, which was acquired in 2021 by Bacanora, the initial developer of the field, has carried out tests in its pilot plants of Mexico and China to ensure that your technology pato extract lithium It works on a commercial scale, Secker said. More than a decade has passed since Bacanora first acquired the concession.
The national lithium company Created last year by President López Obrador, it could establish partnerships with the private sector as long as the Government has the majority participation, its newly appointed director, Pablo Taddei, said then.
“If the government is going to invest, there will have to be a valuation,” Secker said when asked about a possible partnership. He added that the company is open to it and willing to disclose information about its balance sheets, its people and its technology to advance any potential deal.
“It would be absurd for the Government not to work with Ganfeng to develop a strategy,” added the manager, who added that the Chinese firm also plans to produce fertilizers using the potassium found in the same deposit during its exploration work.
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Lithium reserves in Sonora amount to just under nine million tons, according to company data. Although the Sonora project has stalled, Ganfeng has tripled its metal projects in Argentina, Secker said.