he mountainous region of Potosí in southern Bolivia was one of the richest places in the Spanish Empire. In the 16th and 17th centuries more than half the world’s silver came from one mountain in the region. Potosí’s barren landscape has yielded plenty of other riches since then, including aluminium, lead and zinc. In the 19th century a British company built a railway line to carry minerals from landlocked Bolivia to the Chilean coast, from where they were shipped to Europe.
Looking to profit from this burgeoning demand, in 2013 the Bolivian government opened a lithium factory on one edge of the salt flat, a solid white expanse of 10,000 square kilometres that sits high up in the Andes – 1km higher than Machu Picchu in neighbouring Peru.From top to bottom Some locals make a meagre living by harvesting salt: a laborious process involving a dumper truck, a tractor and several men with shovels and long sleeves to protect them from the fierce glare of the sun. It doesn’t rain as much as it used to, however, so the fresh layer of crystals that forms each year is no longer as thick as it used to be. Locals are worried that lithium production, which relies on large quantities of water, will worsen water shortages.
The seven siblings all went to university in Sucre, a nearby city. At one point, six of them were crammed into two rented rooms; each week, a package would arrive containing quinoa, bread and dried meat from relatives in Rio Grande, where staples were cheaper. Alí became immersed in left-wing university politics and even travelled to Cuba to hear Fidel Castro speak.It was a hopeful time in Potosí.
There was a mini-construction boom in Rio Grande. New houses sprang up, as did a modern town hall with big windows, a school called New Dawn and a football stadium known as the “coliseum”. Alí built a two-storey hotel on a busy corner and called it the Lithium Hotel. He also opened a shop so that his future guests could stock up on snacks.
sarahmaslin My grandma had a sister that died in a hospital in Toronto.
sarahmaslin Li is a metal, found in various minerals, making up certain rocks.
sarahmaslin Paywall Spoiler: it takes a lot of digging to find a little bit of lithium.
sarahmaslin What’s the science behind lithium mining pollution into waterways? I would love to know before I’m forced to buy an electric car.
I can't imagine there is anything good, so I won't be signing up. You still need to live up to your own words supporting cocaine legalization, Economist. Probably quoted some pro-inept-government 'analyst' from Rice university, and didn't actually discuss the waste of $2 billion
Who hasn't the US embraced the cleanest energy source like France to lower its emissions? Maybe it would highlight that the Clintons sold 20% of U.S. uranium mines to Putin. Oh.
If they are smart, let them pool domestic capital.
Rather than waiting for the perfect economic resource opportunity, these struggling regions should pull together doing the most possible to maintain and improve wherever they can.
Ding Ding! In comes the valid scrutiny of the UN and need for stronger trust in global systems. WAY TO LEAD, !
Probably not
SaraRubab5 future alternative for petroleum
Can developing countries avoid their mineral/natural resources being exploited by powerful multinational companies for nothing in return?
Superb part of the world, terribly sad if they can't develop this industry without being exploited. The environment deserves protection, it needs to be published as a fantastic place to visit.