Japan and Bolivia have begun a full-fledged trial project to extract lithium from the Uyuni salt flats in the Andes, which experts believe contains around half of the world's reserves of the soft metal.
As the only foreign country involved in the extraction work at the 10,600-sq.-km Uyuni site, considered the largest salt flats in the world, Japan hopes to gain an advantage in the race to secure supplies of lithium, a critical component in making batteries for many electronic appliances and electric cars.
But several major hurdles remain before the Uyuni salt flats can be commercialized, notably left-wing Bolivian President Evo Morales' advocacy for the country's lithium-related operations to be nationalized.