France wants to participate in the world lithium race. The metallurgical and mining group Eramet announced, Monday, November 8, the opening in Argentina, in 2024, of a processing plant for this essential mineral for the manufacture of automotive batteries, in partnership with the Chinese Tsingshan. A project that he had put under cocoon in 2019, due to the Argentinian crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, and that he is relaunching while the urgency of the energy transition is being debated at the COP 26 in Glasgow ( Scotland).
For years, the company has owned 100% of a deposit located at an altitude of 3,800 meters in the Andean highlands of the province of Salta (North-West). For this factory project of 400 million dollars (346 million euros), it had to join forces with Tsingshan, the world number one in stainless steel. The Chinese partner will own 49.9% of the project and provide $ 375 million. For its part, the French company will spend $ 25 million for the 50.1% holding and control of the project.
This arrangement allows it not to increase its debt (1.24 billion euros), while the Duval family, its largest shareholder (37% of shares and 44% of voting rights), ahead of the State (25, 6%) opposes any recapitalization. But it has a consequence: if the Argentinian project is able to meet 15% of European needs, estimates Christel Bories, CEO of the group, half of the initial production will go to China. Initially, the plant will produce 24,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year for four decades. Given the richness of the deposit (10 million tonnes), “Subsequent extensions” are planned.
Ten years ago, Eramet launched exploration campaigns in Chile, Bolivia and Argentina, in this lithium “golden triangle” containing half of the world’s reserves. This diversification of a company already present in nickel (New Caledonia, Indonesia) and manganese (Gabon) positions it “At the heart of the energy transition solution” and illustrious a strategy of refocusing on critical metals integrated in particular in automotive batteries, underlines Mme Bories.
Ambitious environmental strategy
It forecasts that world demand for nickel will double, and that for cobalt and lithium by four and six respectively, by 2030. Four cars out of ten will then be electric, and even three quarters in Europe. . To ensure outlets for its production, Eramet has entered into negotiations with several European battery manufacturers, including the two consortia launched in France around the manufacturers Stellantis (formerly PSA-Fiat Chrysler) and Renault.
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