Zelandez has partnered with the Argentinian province of Catamarca in an agreement to provide modular prefabricated plants for the South American nation’s top lithium-producing province.
Signed during the World Lithium Congress in Washington D.C. last week, the partnership links the world’s leading lithium brine services provider with CAMYEN, Catamarca’s mining and energy company.
Supply and utilization of ErLi—Zelandez’s prefabricated lithium carbonate production facilities—forms the partnership’s central element. CAMYEN has plans to be among the early adopters of the industry-first plants, which Zelandez will build in the United States.
Zelandez has deployed its engineers and geoscientists locally in Catamarca since 2018. Gene Morgan, Zelandez’s chief executive, says a formal partnership with CAMYEN felt like a natural progression for the two organizations and a “major win for stakeholders in the Argentinian lithium industry and its supply line to the United States.”
"Zelandez has long been serving clients in the state of Catamarca, and we have enjoyed the pragmatic way that the region seeks to assist local lithium production,” Morgan says. “This partnership aims to help all our clients in the region."
"We welcome this engagement with Zelandez as a way to continue to add value to the province's lithium resources, create jobs, and generate export income," Susana Prelate Molina, the president of CAMYEN, says.
The agreement will also see Zelandez and CAMYEN team up to facilitate future project finance partnerships from the United States, Europe, and Japan. Under Argentinian law, provinces retain mineral resource rights.
By 2027, Argentina is estimated to grow lithium production significantly, surpassing Chile as the world’s second-largest lithium producer. Today, around 20,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) is produced annually from Catamarca’s brinefields, representing more than half of Argentina’s overall production. Most of the nation’s lithium brine exploration projects also occur in the province.
Zelandez Partners with Argentinian State
Catamarca is located at the heart of South America’s "Lithium Triangle," which contains more than 60% of the world’s total lithium reserves in brine formations. South American brine-sourced lithium is considered the lowest-cost source of the battery-critical element.
About Zelandez
Zelandez is the leading services provider to the lithium brine industry. The company provides a comprehensive suite of advanced resource exploration and production tools. Zelandez also offers complete wrap-around integrated services for lithium mining companies designed to accelerate the path to lithium production. Zelandez works with leading lithium mining companies in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, the United States, and Canada.
About CAMYEN
CAMYEN is the mining and energy company of Catamarca Argentina, and its main objective is the development of Catamarca's mining and energy, through the sustainable use of natural resources and the preservation of the environment while society continues developing. CAMYEN holds mining rights by way of business contracts and company collaborations in the lithium market in the region.
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