The Dream of 'White Gold' Becomes Reality... POSCO Extracts Lithium at a Plant Built on a Salt Lake Half the Size of Seoul [Report]

A view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jae A view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jaeA view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jae A view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jaeA view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jaeSeo Seok-jong, head of construction at POSCO Argentina, explains the lithium production process at a pond, or artificial reservoir, formed by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina, on the 19th local time. Photo by Kim Hak-jae[Salta, Argentina = Reporter Kim Hak-jae]
On the 19th local time, after flying for about two hours from Buenos Aires to Salta, the provincial capital of Salta Province in northwestern Argentina, and then taking a small plane for another 30 minutes, I arrived at the Salar de Hombre Muerto area, a high-altitude salt lake 4,000 meters above sea level. The weather was harsh from the start. In a place where yellow-brown land stretched endlessly, the temperature dropped to minus 16 degrees Celsius and winds of more than 40 km/h swept through, making it hard not to shiver. But local workers said in unison that "this is nothing."
Even in these harsh conditions, POSCO Argentina, a unit of POSCO Holdings Inc., was relentlessly producing lithium, a key battery material, through its first lithium brine plant and a second plant nearing completion.
A view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jaeA view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jae
■ Extracting lithium from a vast salt lake half the size of Seoul
When POSCO Holdings Inc. acquired the mining rights to the Salar de Hombre Muerto in Salta Province in 2018 for about $280 million, the site was still a "land of possibility." There were ponds and pilot production facilities to pump up underground brine and raise the lithium concentration, but it was still unproven whether large-scale commercial production would succeed.
Now, however, the situation is different. After completing the first plant, which handles the upstream process at 4,000 meters above sea level, the company has built a stable production system and is preparing to complete the second plant in October. It has implemented an optimal process that achieves high purity and high yield at low manufacturing costs, even with brine containing many impurities.
In April, POSCO Holdings Inc. additionally acquired the mining rights to the Hombre Muerto North brine project held by Lithium South (LIS) in Canada, expanding its local lithium brine resources to a total of 15 million tons. The total area secured now stands at 287 square kilometers, or 86.81 million pyeong. That is about half the size of the Seoul Metropolitan Government area and 99 times the size of Yeouido. The pond area alone reaches 8.92 square kilometers, or 2.7 million pyeong, roughly three times the size of Yeouido and equivalent to 1,290 soccer fields.
As a result, POSCO Holdings Inc. has secured room to expand future production capacity while adding 1.5 million tons of lithium resources. Based on the resources it has secured so far, it can produce 100,000 tons of lithium a year for about 42 years.
Park Hyun, head of POSCO Argentina, explained, "One major advantage is that several facilities, including the first plant, are located near the acquired mining area." He added, "Beyond acquiring additional lithium resources from land where basic exploration has already been completed, it is also meaningful that we can secure more pond and plant sites in the future."
A view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jaeA view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jae
A view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jaeA view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jae
A view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jaeA view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jae
A view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jaeA view of the pond, or artificial reservoir, created by collecting brine extracted from Salar de Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt lake at 4,000 meters in Salta Province, northern Argentina. Photo by Kim Hak-jae
■ "Higher efficiency than rivals, and a shorter stabilization period"
The process of pumping lithium-rich brine from underground, drying it in ponds, and then refining the lithium through extraction may seem simple, but it requires advanced technology that leaves no room for impurities.
While local production stability in Argentina is said to be ahead of China, the upstream process at the first plant, where concentrated brine moves through plant piping and is converted into lithium phosphate, was operating stably. At the second plant, which is nearing completion, lithium carbonate trial production was in its final stage. During the trial run, lithium carbonate "wet powder," the stage before it is refined into powder, was being produced.
Seo Seok-jong, head of construction at POSCO Argentina, said, "A typical steel mill or general production plant takes six months to a year to stabilize, but in the lithium business it often takes more than a year." He added, "We are applying the know-how gained from operating the first plant through all four seasons to the next plants."
If you drive about 10 minutes from the plant, you can also see the massive ponds. They function like salt fields, extracting and concentrating brine rich in dissolved lithium. Each cell of a single pond covers 120 hectares, the size of 120 soccer fields. Seo said, "At present, there is absolutely no problem with supply. Our efficiency in this environment is relatively better than that of other competitors." He added, "We have learned a great deal about pond operations and other know-how, so the stabilization period will be shorter as we move to the second plant and, later, the third and fourth plants."
[email protected] Reporter Kim Hak-jae Reporter