Liex, Zijin Mining’s subsidiary in Argentina, recently commenced its Phase 2 Green Initiative. Employees of Liex have begun planting saplings in the desert that hosts the Tres Quebradas (“3Q”) Lithium Project’s plants and camps, breathing new life into the surroundings.

Situated in the desert of the Puna region in the Andes, the lithium carbonate processing plant of the 3Q project stands at an elevation of 1,500 meters. The area experiences frequent sandstorms. It has an extremely low annual rainfall of just 100 millimeters, yet an astonishing annual evaporation rate of 3,000 millimeters. These conditions have earned it the nickname “Home of Wind and Sand”.

Since taking over the project, Zijin Mining has demonstrated a strong commitment to ecological and environmental protection. It has forged partnerships with local educational institutions, tree nurseries, and contractors to select native trees that thrive in the desert and implement an efficient and water-saving drip irrigation system. To date, a 5-kilometer-long ecological barrier has been built.

The 3Q lithium salar has approximately 7.63 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent(LCE) resources. Phase I of the project, with a production capacity of 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per annum, is scheduled for commissioning by the end of 2023.

Translator: Vivian Jian    Reviser: Lin Xindi   Editor-in-Chief: Wang Jie