Mexico acknowledged on Wednesday that it needs private investors to develop its lithium reserves, which the left-wing government has nationalized through the creation of a state-owned company, AFP reported.

“We will not have the funds to make this reserve only state-owned. We need big investments,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said at his daily press conference.

Its majority in parliament nationalized lithium mining in April. On August 23, a decree created the public company Litio para Mexico (LitioMx).

According to the president, LitioMx is a “public-private” company. The opening for private capital “will receive a lot of support. It is in the interests of national and foreign investors and investment funds.”

Lithium is used in the production of batteries for electric cars.

According to the Mexican president, the goal is the exclusive marketing of “electric vehicles” by 2030-2035 within the framework of the free trade agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada.

According to López Obrador, Mexico is being advised by Bolivia, which is negotiating to mine its lithium in cooperation with German, Chinese and American companies.

The executive has previously said it wants to review eight concessions granted by previous governments.

Mexico will have deposits in the north of the country (Sonora, Baja California, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi), according to a study by the Ministry of Economy in December 2018.

Chinese-backed company Bacanora says on its website it has “ten mining concessions” covering “approximately 100,000 hectares” in the state of Sonora and mentions a potential of 8.8 million tonnes.

“So far, there is no information on existing lithium reserves,” said Jaime Gutierrez, president of the Mexican Chamber of Mines (CAMIMEX).

Australia, Chile, Argentina and China are the world’s leading producers of lithium.