Mexico Plans State Lithium Company, Questions Chinese Mine

Mexico Plans State Lithium Company, Questions Chinese Mine
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gives his daily, morning news conference at the presidential palace, Palacio Nacional, in Mexico City, on Dec. 18, 2020. Marco Ugarte/AP Photo
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MEXICO CITY—Mexico’s president said Wednesday he will create a state-owned company to mine lithium and appeared to suggest he will seek to cancel one of the few existing permits held by a Chinese company.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had said in October that he wants to declare lithium a “strategic mineral” and reserve future exploration and mining to the government. Lithium is a key component of batteries.