I notice they claim the "first yield" will be in 2025. It doesn't seem like significant mining has going on, or is very recent.
From the article:
In December, it opened its first industrial-scale lithium plant. The $100 million facility is expected to produce as much as 15,000 tons of lithium carbonate a year.
That was in December of 2023. The "first yield" is expected in 2025.
sigh, from the article: 1) the article does NOT reference the beginning of mining in 2023/2024, but the construction by the Chinese of new plants with different extraction policies. If you had read it, you would know that, assuming basic English comprehension 2) quoting: "The South American landlocked country has a history of unfulfilled lithium dreams. It has tried and failed to develop its industry several times since the 1990s, producing an accumulated 1,400 tonnes since 2018."
THis means they have tried to mine it since the 1990s, used wells, had ponds but got no Lithium, or very little, until fairly recently
Is English your first language?