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The mining company Macusani Yellowcake, a subsidiary of Plateau Energy in Canada, discovered a lithium-uranium deposit in a prehistoric lake covered with lava in the Andean region of Puno, in south-eastern Peru . "With what has already been drilled, we see that our lithium resources will add between 2.2 and 2.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate and our uranium resources will increase from 130 to 132 million pounds to date", he said. Ulises Solis, general manager of Macusani, at AFP
"We were very surprised when we found high level lithium.We opted for uranium, but when we saw the results holes 80 meters deep in the reservoir, they opened our eyes. "
This deposit, discovered in the second half of 2017, is located at an altitude of 4500 meters in an Andean region bordering Bolivia, about 150 kilometers north of Lake Titicaca.
Solis said that Macusani could become the largest lithium mine in the world, with production exceeding those of Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.
Now, the biggest lithium deposit in production is in Mexico, according to the director.
"We continue the explorations and that should triple, (and so) we would be the first in the world," said Solis.
The company needs an investment of $ 800 million to start producing lithium and uranium in this deposit that occupies the third part of an old lake.
"We continued drilling and we saw that it is a lake of millions of years that was covered by volcanic lava.We are looking for the shape of the lake, we know that this lake is going in the west, "said Solís.
The company has been prospecting in this region since 2007 and has only explored 8,000 hectares out of the 92,000 that it owns. "Macusani becomes the first deposit in the world to contain lithium and oil." Uranium, "said Laurence Stefan, director of operations at Plateau Energy, who said production would begin at the end of 2020.
" We talked in Germany with Volkswagen; They are interested in having lithium ", said Stefan, noting that Peru can start exporting lithium carbonate for about $ 500 million a year by 2021.
In the case of uranium, Solis says that to begin production, "
" When processing lithium, we also have to do it with uranium, it is exposed and it will be more radioactive, "he said.
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