RE:Puno preparing for Falchani exploitationJust to put things in perspective, Oracio Angel Pacori Mamani is a Puno congressman for the "Nuevo Peru" Party, which together with the "Frente Amplio" Party are the only two left-wing parties in Peru Congress, and as you can confirm by searching in the web both parties (combined) have only 19 members out of the 130 members of Peru Congress:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_the_Republic_of_Peru The interesting thing is that reading Pacori's declarations it seems he is promoting lithium exploitation, putting Puno's interests ahead of everything else. If "leftists" congressmen are supporting this proyect, who will oppose when the time comes to approve the "required" legal framework?
https://www.rumbominero.com/noticias/mineria/nuevo-peru-presenta-proyecto-para-explorar-y-explotar-litio-en-el-peru/ "Nuevo Peru" presents project to explore and exploit lithium in Peru "Nuevo Peru" presented a project to explore and exploit lithium in Peru. Recently, sources from the sector told Rumbo Minero that the congressman from Nuev Peru, Angel Pacori, presented a handwritten framework law for the exploration and exploration of lithium.
Thus, Rumbo Minero had access to bill No. 4063/2018 - which is in the Energy and Mines Commission of Congress, - and learned that the author said that currently the procedures of mining concession, exploration, exploitation and closure of mine and benefits for the utilization of lithium minerals does not have an explicit regulation; that is, there is a legal vacuum; and in the face of the imminent exploitation of this resource in Peru due to international demand, it is necessary to develop regulations in a specific way, especially when dealing with a mineral whose exploitation will produce transcendent impacts on the environment and on health.
"The mining activity is an important axis in the Peruvian economy; which has led to several studies of exploration and exploitation of minerals in different areas of the country. Lithium, uranium and other radioactive minerals have gained a significant attention due to their potential. These minerals are mainly found in brine and volcanic acid rocks of the Pliocene in the Peruvian territory, as is the case of the district of Macusani, in Puno", said Congressman Angel Pacori.
He added that in the case of lithium, for example, it has been used traditionally for the manufacture of glasses, ceramics, lubricants, psychiatric medicines, lubricating greases, air conditioning, polymers and metallurgy, among others; however, as a result of the exponential growth of the electronic industry of portable, energy-rechargeable devices, the international demand for lithium has increased in recent years.
"This exponential increase in lithium demand reached, in 2016, 201 thousand tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) and it is estimated that by the year 2021 reach 372,288 LCE of which 58.7% would be destined for manufacturing of batteries and 37.7% will be used for electric cars. Being the main consumers of lithium, South Korea with 16,000 tons of lithium carbonate; United States with 13,000; Japan with 12,000; China with 11,000; Belgium with 8,000 and Germany with 3,000 whose destination is mainly the technological industry of computers, cell phones and electric cars", said Pacori Mamani.
He added that it must be borne in mind that -according to the Argentine Mining Economy Directorate and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) - the main lithium reserves are in Chile (50%), China (25%), Australia (10%), Argentina (9%) and the rest of the world with 6%.
"As you remember, in mid-2018, in Peru, the discovery of the largest lithium deposit was made known. This deposit has the name of Falchani and is located in the Puno region", explained the congressman.
Similarly, he indicated that the holder of the mining concession is the company Macusani Yellowcake; the capacity of the deposit, it is calculated to be between 2.2 and 2.5 million tons of lithium carbonate; and uranium resources between 130 to 132 million pounds.
As recalled, this calculation was made as a result of explorations of 8,000 hectares out of the 92,000 that the mining company Macusani Yellowcake has as a concession; and it is because of these volumes of material that Macusani becomes the first deposit in the world that contains lithium and uranium. In addition, Peru could begin exporting lithium carbonate for around US$ 500 million annually in 2021.