Chile and Germany reach agreement on lithium mining. The agreement will fuel Germany’s growing EV manufacturing sector and push for green energy. It was reported by local news organizations in Latin America.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized in an announcement Germany wants to assist Chile to reach “a more sustainable mining sector.” Reporting by the Chilean media outlet El Extremo Sur de la Patagonia, says the effort by Germany is aimed at making a better offer to Chile on lithium than China.

Citing reporting by Bloomberg, the report notes: “Part of Germany’s strategy to get Chile on board is to have more of the production process based locally and to help make extraction and processing less harmful to the environment,” sources close to the negotiations said. According to the report, just two companies currently mine lithium in Chile. Both send the majority of the mineral to China.

Coverage of the agreement appeared in the leftist Mexico newspaper La Jornada. It notes sixty percent of the world’s lithium is located in Latin America. “The Latin American countries with the largest lithium reserves are Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, where the so-called Lithium Triangle is located; however, in recent years Mexico, Peru and Brazil have joined the list of countries that have discovered important lithium deposits in their territories.”

Bolivia, according to La Jornada, has the largest lithium reserves in Latin America and recently signed an agreement with the China mining company Contemporary Amperex Technology, the “largest manufacturer and recycler of lithium batteries.