Bolivia YLB–Uranium One Group USD 970M DLE lithium-carbonate plant contract (Salar de Uyuni, court-suspended May 2025)

Mechanism

Bolivia's state lithium company YLB concluded a contract of accidental association with Uranium One Group — a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation — for the development of a DLE (Direct Lithium Extraction) industrial plant on the Salar de Uyuni brine deposit. The contract stipulates:

• Initial plant capacity: 14,000 t/yr battery-grade lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃)
• Expansion pathway: contingent on additional geological exploration, up to 25,000–45,000 t/yr
• Total investment: USD 970M+ (initial plant ~USD 600M; expansion tranche conditional)
• Profit split: Bolivia 51% (through YLB) / Uranium One Group 49%
• Technology: Uranium One's proprietary DLE process, selected through YLB's international EDL tender launched in 2021

The contract followed a competitive tender process that YLB ran from 2021, shortlisting several DLE technology providers. Uranium One's offer was selected alongside that of Hong Kong CBC (a CATL-CMOC-BRUNP consortium, signed November 2024 — see 2024-11-26-bolivia-ylb-hong-kong-cbc-lithium-contract), giving Bolivia two parallel DLE-counterparty tracks at Salar de Uyuni with distinct technology lineages, financing structures, and geopolitical exposure.

Legislative and judicial trajectory

Under Bolivian law, state enterprises cannot execute contracts of this magnitude without Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional ratification. The Executive transmitted the contract to the legislature in Q4 2024. The sequence:

1. February 2025: The Comisión de Economía Plural, Producción, Industria y Microempresa of the Cámara de Diputados approved the project for ratification. The vote was contentious — opposition legislators alleged bribes, technical errors in the DLE feasibility assumptions, and opacity in the tender documentation. 2. 14 February 2025: A joint parliamentary motion suspended ratification proceedings for both the Uranium One Group and CITIC Guoan contracts, requiring the government to disclose full technical and financial terms before any plenary vote. 3. 27 May 2025: A Bolivian court issued precautionary measures ordering YLB and the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energies to suspend all administrative acts and construction linked to the contracts until compliance with human rights, environmental law, and the Constitutional rights of the Madre Tierra (Pachamama) is verified. The action was brought by the Central Única Provincial de Comunidades Originarias de Nor Lípez on behalf of >50 indigenous communities in the Salar de Uyuni region. 4. 29 May 2025: The Arce government stated it had not been formally notified of the court order and would continue to press for legislative ratification.

As of the filing date the contract is court-suspended and legislatively unratified.

Downstream implications

• Russia-state-affiliate counterparty risk: Uranium One Group is a Rosatom subsidiary. Any downstream off-take or financing arrangements involving EU or US institutions could trigger sanctions-exposure issues under the OFAC/OFSI Russia-sanctions perimeters, even if Bolivia itself is not sanctioned.
• US/EU FEOC exposure: A Bolivia-Rosatom DLE partnership that produces battery-grade Li₂CO₃ for global OEM supply chains would likely qualify as FEOC-tainted under US IRA §45X and EU CRMA domestic-sourcing benchmarks, limiting off-take options to non-US/EU buyers.
• Structural peer to HK CBC contract: Both contracts are simultaneously unratified or contested. The dual-track DLE programme's viability is now contingent on Bolivia's FPIC process and court resolution — timeline uncertain.
• LatAm Lithium Triangle signalling: The court suspension on Madre Tierra / FPIC grounds is structurally similar to the human-rights grounds used to pause lithium investments in Argentina (Acuerdo Federal Minero) and Chile (prior to the National Lithium Strategy 2023). It reinforces that EM lithium-resource-nationalism policies increasingly face counter-pressure from indigenous-rights and environmental jurisprudence.

Open questions

• Will the Bolivian legislature ratify the Uranium One contract if/when the court stay is lifted?
• Can YLB's DLE programme proceed without Rosatom participation if the court ruling is upheld?
• Does the Rosatom counterparty structure preclude participation in any US/EU-aligned critical-minerals supply chains (IRA §45X, EU CRMA)?