"There are Russian companies that are participating in the competition for the production of lithium. Only nine companies are participating in the competition, showing their technologies. We want to choose which of them will be able to do the job with greater purity, efficiency and economy so that in March-April Bolivia can decide who will it work with", Arce said.
Bolivia, which boasts the world's largest lithium reserves, announced an international competition for direct lithium mining in late April to select the technology that would achieve the best results for the country's economy in the shortest possible time.
Rosatom first deputy general director Kirill Komarov told Sputnik that the state corporation was participating in the tender. Bolivian Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta said that the country was considering Gazprom's proposal for the extraction of lithium.