Opinion: Bolivia lithium project co-invested by Chinese companies poses risk to Indigenous communities and environment without proper government oversight
"The Case of the Hong Kong CBC Contract for Lithium Exploitation in the Salar de Uyuni" Latinoamérica Sustentable, 3 April 2025
The contract for the construction and operation of two Direct Extraction Lithium (DEL) and lithium carbonate plants, with the Hong Kong CBC consortium, which includes Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), Guangdong Brunp Recycling Technology Co. Ltd. (BRUNP), and CMOC Group Ltd. (CMOC), was sent to the Assembly in December 2024 and is still under processing.
Bolivian stakeholders have criticized this contract for misaligning with national laws to protect local communities and the environment.
The contract with Hong Kong CBC has omitted the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of Indigenous communities, a critical and mandatory component according to national and international legislation.
In 2024, the community raised concerns about the construction of new wells by YLB for the benefit of the Hong Kong CBC consortium.
The Sole Provincial Center of Indigenous Communities of Nor Lípez (CUPCONL, for its Spanish acronym) voiced its opposition to this contract, arguing that it violates the constitutional right to Prior Consultation within its territory.
The lack of FPIC constitutes a lack of compliance with the Chinese Due Diligence Guidelines for the Mineral Supply Chain (2nd Edition, 2022).
Concerns have been raised that the contract with Hong Kong CBC threatens water sustainability in one of the world's most vulnerable regions to climate change.
The total water demand (brines and freshwater) leads to consumption up to 30% higher than that of the San Cristóbal mine, currently the largest open-pit mining project in Bolivia.
Furthermore, this project threatens the massive exploitation of fossil waters, without which life in this basin is impossible.
Hector Córdova, a researcher at the Jubilee Foundation, questions the fact that the contract with Hong Kong CBC does not describe the technology it will use to obtain lithium carbonate. As a result, the type and amount of waste it will generate and its environmental impacts remain unknown.
The absence of an Environmental Impact Assessment Study (EIAS) constitutes a breach of Environmental Law No. 1333 and the aforementioned Chinese Due Diligence Guidelines.
China’s energy transition must not come at the expense of Bolivia’s fundamental rights and natural treasures.