We're excited to get our LTI launch event up and running @the_IDB. 
Opening remarks & presentation by Argentina's new Secretary of Mining Alberto Hensel.
The secretary highlights that Argentina's lithium sector is dynamic with a number of lithium projects in operation, under construction and in early stages of development.
The secretary expects Argentina's lithium exports to grow from $190 million in 2019 to $2.1 billion by 2024, based on their forecasts.
The secretary ends his presentation by noting that Argentina's mining industry's success depends on the political will of the government to support the sector.
Ellen Lenny-Pessagno, Country Manager of Albemarle joins the conversation.
She notes that Albemarle was first on the ground in Chile to develop lithium and in close cooperation with the Chilean government and CORFO.
The process of producing lithum in Chile, where she says it is a all natural process with evaporation being the means to extract the lithium from the broker. She says no fresh water is being used to produce the lithium.
In this slide, the use of water is broken down. Noting that they use fresh water to wash equipment.
In a revealing slide, she notes that the water used for one battery for a Tesla is equivalent to 30 cups of coffee.
Albemarle works with local indigenous communities with consultations, joint monitoring and 3 percent of sales shared with the communities.
Martín Pérez de Solay, CEO & Managing Director of Orocobre Limited
He notes three challenges for lithium products, like Orocobre: financing, social licensing and how to ensure quality and quantity production.
He notes that consumers of lithium, like car companies want not only higher quality lithium, but also the environmental impact of the production process.
He notes that 70 percent of the employment in Orocobre are from local communities or from the province, as well using local suppliers.
He is optimistic about the future of the lithium supply chain in Latin America, expecting battery production to happen in the region.
Michael Maten, Manager, Energy, Environment, and Electrification Policy of General Motors
GM has been an early producer of EVs. He notes that the challenges for mass adoption include longer range vehicles, which requires larger batteries and more lithium.
He notes that there is great uncertainty about the number of EVs that will be sold in the next decade, with wide variation in forecasts. A major barrier, battery costs.
He argues that how quickly battery costs come down will dictate how quickly the EV sector grows.
He highlights that the battery costs about 40 percent of total car costs, so this is why it's so important for to ensure quality and good priced lithium to ensure costs are under control.
A View from Chile: Developing South America's Lithium Triangle:
Javier Coopman, Chief of Staff, Minister Baldo Prokurica of Chilean Ministry of Mining
Roberto Vergara, Chief of Staff, EVP of Pablo Terrazas (CORFO)
Andrea Mohr, Cabinet Advisor, EVP Pablo Terrazas (CORFO)
Javier Coopman, Chief of Staff, Minister Baldo Prokurica of Chilean Ministry of Mining
Roberto Vergara, Chief of Staff, EVP of Pablo Terrazas (CORFO)
Andrea Mohr, Cabinet Advisor, EVP Pablo Terrazas (CORFO)
Chile has a great potential for lithium production with 18 salares under consideration for their lithium potential.
CORFO expects lithium production to increase by more than 100 percent by 2023 from current production levels.
CODELCO, the state owned mining firm, is in talks with private firms to explore production in the Salar de Maricunga.
The biggest challenge for the sector is to reduce the use of water, by investing in new technologies to increase the productivity of the production process, "towards a green lithium"
CORFO notes Chile is very competitive for the production of lithium, due to the high level of solar energy the region has and with the largest reserves of the metal in the world.
CORFO is optimistic about the production capacity of Chile's lithium sector with exponential growth expected by 2030.
The Chilean state is a big beneficiary of lithium production, collecting over half a billion dollars in revenue.
CORFO is investing in a new R&D center that focuses on developing technology for solar energy, sustainable mining & lithium-based materials amongst other renewable and sustainable industries that Chile has a nascent comparative advantage in.
CORFO is also advancing an industrial policy to promote value added to it's lithium resources, by offering battery producers with 25 percent of SQM's volume at a discount to those producers who are in Chile.
The cost curve for producers in Chile is favorable, according to CORFO data.
Flavia Milano, Operations Senior Specialist of the Inter-American Development Bank leads a discussion about the social and environmental aspects of lithium.
She notes that it's very important to ensure that, given the network effects of social media, that bad information can distort or understanding of the sector. Thus, it's important to have a bottom-up approach to confront highly politicized discussions about these complex issues
A bottom-up and cooperative approach with a commitment to transparency and open information is key to cooperative planning. This should, done right, help avoid conflicts or misunderstandings with the local communities and raise awareness to the broader society.
@benjamingedan is giving closing remarks and thanks the participants for joining us at a successful launch of the LTI.
