New Posco facility in Argentina gears up for lithium production

The nation’s leading steelmaker Posco announced on Monday that it is readying its new factory in Argentina for mass production of lithium. The chemical element is used in manufacturing rechargeable batteries.

The company added that, in collaboration with the Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, it had developed a new lithium-extracting technique in which the material can be directly obtained from lake water via chemical reactions.

That methodology will be used at Posco’s new plant in Jujuy, Argentina - expected to become a stronghold in lithium production.

According to the company, the facility will be capable of producing some 200 tons of lithium each year. Projections indicate that the facility will be able to start production in 2016, after test operations next year.