June 10, Argentine time, Ganfeng Lithium officially commenced production at the Cauchari-Olaroz salt lake project in Argentina.
The Cauchari-Olaroz salt lake is Ganfeng's first production project in Argentina, holding profound significance for optimizing resource allocations and enhancing the global layout of the company.
Located in Jujuy Province, Argentina, the lithium resource at Cauchari-Olaroz totals approximately 24.58 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), making it one of the largest salt lake lithium extraction projects globally. Ganfeng has control over this project. The planned Phase 1 capacity of the project is 40,000 tons of LCE, with Phase 2 not less than 20,000 tons of LCE. The current production marks the completion of Phase 1, bringing over 2,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities to the local community.
The project primarily utilizes solar evaporation for lithium extraction, and the energy for other production processes mainly comes from photovoltaic power generation. In the extraction process, non-potable water resources are used for production and are collected and reused after the evaporation of water resources. The project has formulated an environmental management plan, regularly inviting local biologists and environmental scientists for environmental training. The entire production process strictly adheres to ESG criteria, aiming to create the cleanest and greenest lithium resource project.
The core goal for Ganfeng is to "replicate Ganfeng globally." In recent years, Ganfeng's replication capabilities have been demonstrated domestically with the rapid construction and commissioning of production bases such as Mahong Phase III, Phase IV, and Ganfeng Lithium Battery Phase II. Now, Ganfeng aims to apply its replication capabilities overseas.
In the past three years, construction has simultaneously commenced on multiple overseas projects, including Mariana and PPG in Argentina, Goulamina in Mali, Sonora in Mexico, with clear construction and production schedules. For Ganfeng, the production commencement of the Cauchari-Olaroz project signifies that its production and construction capabilities are fully transferable overseas. The experience gained and accumulated overseas will serve as a reference for further enhancing the development speed of subsequent projects.
