Outotec will provide filters, auxiliary equipment, spare parts and start-up services to the pilot plant to be built in the Salar de Uyuni area of Bolivia.
Elevated over 3,600 meters above mean sea level, Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat of the world and estimated to contain even more than half of the world's lithium reserves.
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Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics, high strength-to-weight alloys used in aircraft, lithium batteries and lithium-ion batteries.
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The first stage of the project to commercialize the vast lithium reserves of Bolivia is to build the pilot plant for conducting a feasibility study on a large-sized industrial plant. Outotec's equipment deliveries are scheduled to be completed during 2012.
"This is one of the world's most important lithium projects, and already in this pilot plant stage extremely interesting for us. Bolivia is a country with rich mineral resources, and Outotec has technologies to offer for their sustainable exploitation", states Pertti Korhonen, CEO of Outotec.
