The high demand for lithium globally caused the value of this mineral to reach the highest figure in the last five years, with which Mexico’s reserves totaled an approximate price of 102 thousand 326 million dollars, according to data from the platform Trading Economics.
Currently, each ton of lithium averages a value of 60 thousand dollars. Only since the beginning of this six-year term, in December 2018, the mineral became more expensive 395 percent, while since the announcement of the electricity reform in October 2021, the increase is 57 percent.
The escalation in the price of lithium began in December 2020, with which in just over a year it has already accumulated an appreciation of 947 percent.
Alejandro Armenta , a member of the Senate Energy Commission, explained that 54 percent of lithium demand goes to the manufacture of rechargeable batteries for electric cars, cell phones and solar panels.
This implies the risk that battery prices will skyrocket due to the increase in the value of the mineral, said Ramsés Pech, an expert at the Caraiva y Asociados consultancy .
“Growing demand for minerals key to the energy transition and supply chain issues have pushed lithium prices to record highs, and prices are unlikely to drop anytime soon,” he explained.
He considered that the lithium business is not in the extraction, but in the value chain of this mineral and in the products that are derived from the physicochemical reactions, carried out by different processes and depending on the type of lithium source .
He added that currently, in Mexico , there is no mine that is in the exploitation phase, since there is only one pilot that began studies in 2010, and the rest is in exploration and evaluation to know its scope, but it is necessary to invest resources to be able to certify reservations.
