Lithium exploitation in Mexico focuses on the municipality of Bacadéhuachi, in the northeastern state of Sonora. 

To note first and foremost: the Mining Law was amended on April 20, 2022 to declare Mexico’s lithium reserves as national patrimony. 

Lithium is key to modern industry. It is used in batteries for electronic devices and electric vehicles. It is also used in electrical grids and solar panels. 

Lithium exploitation in Mexico

According to Mexico’s Mining Law, it is the responsibility of the Executive Branch to designate a decentralized public entity to carry out the exploration and exploitation of lithium reserves.

On August 23, 2022, Lithium for Mexico, overseen by the Ministry of Energy, was created for these purposes. 

The Decree for the Nationalization of Lithium was enacted on February 18, 2023 to safeguard lithium reserves in 234,855 hectares in the municipalities of Arivechi, Divisadero, Granados, Huásabas, Nácori Chico, Sahuaripa and Bacadéhuachi. 

Bacadéhuachi is the territory with the highest estimated potential for lithium exploitation in Mexico.

Clay substrates

In the interest of developing a local supply chain for processed lithium, battery manufacturers could begin establishing plants in Mexico. 

However, according to Lucent Inc, it could take years for a lithium industry to fully develop. 

Mexico nationalized lithium mining and extraction in April 2022, granting a state-owned company exclusive rights to exploit it. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports having identified resources of 1.7 million tons of lithium, ranking Mexico 10th worldwide. 

However, the deposits are mainly in clay substrates that are not yet accessible with current technology. Nonetheless, Lucent says U.S. technology could be the key to unlocking the lithium believed to reside in these deposits.

Clay substrates are layers of earth made up of clay that have lithium within them. They are one of the three main sources of lithium in nature, along with brines (such as those found in salt flats) and certain rocks called pegmatites.

Lucent seeks to transform Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers and cloud computing with a platform of AI and clean energy applications. It has offices in California and Taiwan.