Bolivia is racing to attract foreign investment in its massive, untapped lithium reserves, with plans to expand operations and build new processing plants. But residents living near the lithium deposits say there are too many problems with the facilities already in operation. A lithium plant opened last year has untested equipment and is possibly mismanaging its use of freshwater, raising concerns for residents about whether the Bolivian government can responsibly manage the rapid growth of the industry. The facilities are located in the Salar de Uyuni, a salt flat with an estimated 21 million tons of lithium. Located in the Department of Potosi, the salt flats are believed to be the largest lithium deposit in the world, and makes up one piece of the “Lithium Triangle” with neighboring Argentina and Chile. “We want to see the industrialization of lithium,” Potosí senator Elena Aguilar told Mongabay. “But it has to be done responsibly for the sake of our natural resources, like water.” Last month, several activist groups and senators toured the lithium processing facilities run by the state-owned Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB), the China Machinery Engineering Corporation and Beijing Maison Engineering Co. They discovered equipment that still wasn’t operational and found that officials were unsure how much water, electricity and chemicals they were using. The facilities are designed to produce raw materials for batteries — including lithium carbonate and potassium chloride — while also treating the freshwater needed to carry out those processes. While two of the facilities opened last…This article was originally published on Mongabay
The post Rapid growth of Bolivia’s lithium industry creating new problems for local communities appeared first on EnviroLink Network.