The area is thought to hold around 54% of the world's lithium reserves."
Well, not any more maybe. A large lithium deposit has been dis-covered in Iran as the internationalbanker article notes. (Unusal hyphenation of discovered intentional: it was uncovered, made more widely known, rather than found for the first time ever.) Now that it's in demand, no doubt there are many more deposits of lithium waiting for the limelight.
Wikipedia continues: "By one estimate Argentina could displace Chile as the second largest lithium producer by 2027.[3] Similarly, there are estimates the posits [sic] Argentina producing 16% of the World's lithium by 2030, instead of 6% as in 2021.[3] Low royalty payments when compared to Chile are cited by The Economist as a particular advantage.[3]"