A mining boom in mountainous Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, home to half the world’s lithium reserves, could drain vital ecosystems and deprive Indigenous communities of water.
The demand for lithium for EV batteries is driving a mining boom in an arid Andes region of Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia, home to half the world’s reserves. Hydrologists are warning the mines could drain vital ecosystems and deprive Indigenous communities of precious water.
I travelled to salt flats in northern Argentina where lithium exploitation consumes millions of liters of water, dries up rivers, pollutes and violates the rights of indigenous peoples