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

Published: Jan 9, 2026 10:34

Save

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.

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

Lithium Resources Lithium Exploration lithium

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

7 hours ago

Tinci Materials: Net Profit Was up 181% YoY in 2025

Tinci Materials announced that in 2025, the company achieved operating revenue of 16.649 billion yuan, up 33.00% YoY; net profit was 1.362 billion yuan, up 181.43% YoY. The company planned to distribute a cash dividend of 3 yuan (tax included) for every 10 shares to all shareholders.

7 hours ago

CATL: Net Profit Reached 72.2 billion yuan in 2025, up 42.28% YoY

CATL announced that in 2025, it recorded operating revenue of 423.702 billion yuan, up 17.04% YoY, and net profit of 72.201 billion yuan, up 42.28% YoY. The company plans to distribute a cash dividend of 69.57 yuan per 10 shares to all shareholders (tax included). CATL stated that in 2025, it achieved lithium-ion battery sales of 661 Gwh, up 39.16% YoY.

7 hours ago

CPCA: In January, 35% of Used Cars Transferred Across Registration Jurisdictions, Setting a New Record

CPCA： in January 2026, transaction volume in China’s used car market reached 1.73 million units, down 8% MoM and up 18% YoY, with transaction value at 110.6 billion yuan, up 14.8% YoY. From January to December 2025, cumulative used car transactions totaled 20.11 million units, up 2.5% YoY, with transaction value at 1,289.8 billion yuan, up 0.4%. In recent years, the proportion of inter-provincial used car transfers had fluctuated between 25% and 30%, reaching a record high of 35% for the period in January 2026, transaction volume in China’s new energy used car market reached 158,000 units, down 6% MoM and up 74% YoY, with a new energy penetration rate of 12.2%. From January to December 2025, cumulative transactions of new energy used cars totaled 1.61 million units, up 43% YoY.

7 hours ago