Mexico to Seek Agreement With Ganfeng Lithium

President López Obrador announced that his government will seek an agreement with China-based lithium miner Ganfeng Lithium while defending Mexico's rights amid the firm's arbitration case over a disputed concession. López Obrador stated the concessions granted were too general, as they did not specifically mention lithium extraction, a mineral the government has labeled as strategic.

López Obrador did not provide details on a potential agreement to resolve the dispute but highlighted his government's successful 2022 initiative to nationalize Mexico's lithium industry, reserving future production of the mineral for the state. The president, known for favoring government-controlled resource extraction over private production, suggested that the dispute with Ganfeng stems from confusion regarding how previous administrations granted mining concessions."We believe that the country had previously given out, and we think gave out (mining concessions) in a generic way, not specifically for lithium but instead for mining and we do not think (the dispute) applies," Lopez Obrador stated.

There is no commercial production of lithium in Mexico, a crucial component for rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles. López Obrador, whose presidential term ends in September 2024, emphasized that public-private partnerships for lithium projects are permitted. "We do not want private companies to participate, an (public-private) association can be carried out, but with the predominance of national interest in the case of lithium. Yes, we will go to these international panels to defend our rights,” he added. 

On June 24, 2024, MBN reported that Ganfeng Lithium and two of its subsidiaries filed an arbitration case against the Mexican government with the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).