Moscow may lose access to Bolivian lithium: intelligence explained what this threatens Russia with

Kyiv • UNN January 5 2026, 09:58 PM

Russia may lose access to Bolivian lithium due to a review of the terms of the agreement with Uranium One Group by the new Bolivian administration. The contract, signed on September 11, 2024, provides for the construction of a lithium carbonate production plant, but has not yet been ratified by parliament.

Russia risks losing access to Bolivian lithium due to a change in La Paz's course. As reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service, for the Russian side, this means losing access to one of the key global lithium resources, while Bolivia gains room to adjust terms and potentially attract Western partners, UNN reports.

Details

According to intelligence data, the administration of the new Bolivian president, R. Paz, will review the terms of the agreement between the state corporation Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) and the Russian Uranium One Group, which is part of the Rosatom structure. The contract, signed on September 11, 2024, provides for the construction of a lithium carbonate production plant at the Salar de Uyuni salt flat in the Potosí department – one of the world's largest deposits with reserves of about 11.2 million tons, or almost 38% of global reserves.

Source: https://unn.ua/en/news/moscow-may-lose-access-to-bolivian-lithium-intelligence-explained-what-this-threatens-russia-with