MEXICO – The Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has authorized the nationalization of lithium, a critical mineral for the advancement of modern technologies, to ensure that its exploitation is exclusively under the government’s control.

This decree is supported by a regulation that was ratified in April 2022, which acknowledges lithium as the property of the state.

In the municipality of Bacadéhuachi, situated in the state of Sonora, the President declared, “Our aim is to nationalize lithium, preventing foreigners from exploiting it.”

This location has the highest concentration of lithium reserves and has been selected by the President to initiate an ambitious program, known as the Sonora Plan, to exploit this mineral.

The previous administration granted a permit to Bacanora Lithium, a British firm that became a Chinese company’s asset, and whose agreement is currently being assessed by the government.

As per the Ministry of Energy, lithium has only been found in 23 countries, and Mexico is expected to be in tenth place concerning reserves.

Despite this, energy specialists are unaware if there is enough of this mineral for it to be economically viable and environmentally sustainable.

Lithium is crucial in the production of electric vehicle batteries and other technologies, and it is primarily excavated in South America and Australia, with China dominating the supply chain.