BYD secures rights for lithium mining in Brazil

BYD acquired mining rights for two sites in a lithium-rich part of Brazil in 2023, thereby entering the mining business in its largest market outside China. BYD has not officially announced this move, but a Reuters investigation revealed the deal.

According to the news agency, public documents show that BYD has secured mining rights to over 852 hectares of land in Brazil. The area is located near the city of Coronel Murta in the Jequitinhonha Valley in the eastern state of Minas Gerais – the area is also known as Brazil’s ‘Lithium Valley.’

The lithium is found there in hard rock, so traditional mining methods are suitable for extraction. However, it often takes several years from acquiring the rights to mining. BYD is thus unlikely to calculate with its own lithium from Brazil in the short term. According to Reuters, the manufacturer declined to comment on the matter. However, official documents are said to show that the transaction in 2023 was the responsibility of BYD subsidiary Exploracao Mineral do Brasil, which was founded specifically for this purpose in May 2023.

The US-listed mining company Atlas Lithium also wants to mine lithium in the neighbourhood of the two areas secured by BYD. Reuters states that the company is “in the research phase after an initial geological mapping of the area.” The same is said to apply to BYD subsidiary Exploracao Mineral do Brasil. There is also talk of a current “research phase.” The unit was founded in 2023 with a share capital of 4 million reais (around 669,000 euros).

Brazil is an important market for BYD. The Chinese company is building a total of three production facilities on a former Ford industrial site in the Brazilian state of Bahia: a plant for electric and hybrid cars, a factory for electric bus and truck chassis, and a third plant that will process lithium and iron phosphate for the international market. The company already manufactures electric bus chassis in Campinas in the Brazilian state of São Paulo and operates a lithium iron phosphate battery assembly plant in Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas.

The car plant currently under construction will initially have an annual production capacity of 150,000 electric and hybrid cars, which could later be doubled to 300,000 vehicles.

reuters.com via cnevpost.com