Latin America’s Lithium Triangle: The Geopolitics of the World’s Most Wanted Metal

The Lithium Triangle’s Extraordinary Resource Base

The “Lithium Triangle” encompassing Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile contains approximately 58% of the world’s proven lithium reserves—roughly 140 million metric tons of identified lithium resources, with potentially much more awaiting discovery. The lithium sits in vast salt flats (salars) of the Andes, most notably the Ataca salt flat straddling the Chile-Argentina border and numerous salt flats in Bolivia. These geological formations offer several advantages: the lithium concentrations in the brine are relatively high, extraction can occur through solar evaporation ponds (a technology perfected over decades), and the deposits are geographically concentrated in a region with favorable climate and existing mining infrastructure. By comparison, lithium deposits elsewhere—in North America (Salton Sea, Nevada), Australia, and Asia (Tibet, Tibet)—are either harder to extract, geographically dispersed, or face political complications. The Lithium Triangle’s cost advantage is substantial, with production costs around $5,000-$6,000 per metric ton compared to $9,000-$12,000 in most other regions.