What is lithium and why is it called “white gold”?
A light, reactive metal that became strategic for the energy transition. What it is, what it’s for, and why Argentina sits at the center of the map.
An extraordinary metal
Lithium is the third element of the periodic table (symbol Li, atomic number 3) and the lightest metal that exists. It is so reactive it is never found pure in nature: it appears combined in brines and in minerals such as spodumene.
That lightness and its great energy-storage capacity made it the heart of lithium-ion batteries — the same ones that power phones, laptops, electric vehicles and the large renewable-energy storage systems.
Why “white gold”?
The nickname blends two ideas: its color — lithium carbonate is a white powder — and its strategic value. As transport electrified, demand surged and lithium became a resource as contested as it is coveted. Today, electric-vehicle batteries account for about 70% of global demand.
Argentina is part of the Lithium Triangle alongside Chile and Bolivia, the region holding most of the planet’s identified resources. It is the world’s fifth-largest producer and the fastest-growing, with output based on low-cost brines in the Puna.