It is night in the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world, and a drill is extracting brine in the Aguilar salt flat to evaluate the concentration of lithiuma key metal in the energy transition but whose production involves environmental risks.
Chile accelerates to regain leadership in the lithium. But the large-scale exploitation of this metal threatens the fragile ecosystems that house the northern salt flats, a means of subsistence for small indigenous populations who fear that the little diversity they have left will end up exterminated.
At the heart of the callLithium triangle”, which extends through Chili, Argentina and Bolivia and has the largest reserve on the planet, the Aguilar and La Isla salt flats are in full exploration.
At more than 3,400 meters of altitude in Aguilar the temperature drops to -3ºC and the wind exceeds 40 km/hour. On La Isla, 15 km away and another 1,000 meters of altitude, the climate is even harsher. The southern winter is approaching and there is a rush to finish the work by the National Mining Company (Enami).
“We drill during the day and drill at night, because what we need is to speed up the pace.“, says Iván Mlynarz, Executive Vice President of Enami, to AFP.
Drillers extract samples of brine and chunks from the well that are sent to a laboratory to measure the lithium concentration.
The study concludes in October. The new project partner will be announced in March and production of this project should begin in 2030.White gold”, key in electric car batteries.
First place
Enami’s Altoandinos is the project that also includes the Salar Grande and could provide 60,000 tons of metal per year. It is key in Chile’s plan to regain global leadership in the sector through public-private partnerships.
Australia, which extracts lithium from rocks unlike Chile which does it from brine, took over the place in 2016. Today it produces 43% and Chile 34%.
The strategy of the government of leftist Gabriel Boric also plans to expand production in the Atacama salt flat, with an agreement signed on Friday between the state-owned Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, and the private SQM.
The alliance will add around 300,000 tons of lithium in total between 2025 and 2030, and will considerably increase the production of Chiliwhich in 2022 reached 243,000 tons annually.
Chile has the largest lithium reserves (41%). The metal represented 5.3% of its exports last year compared to 45% for copper.
Fragile salt flats
Lithium is produced in Chile through the evaporation of brine in ponds or pools, with intensive use of water pumped from the salt flats.
Its massive exploitation puts at risk endemic species in danger of extinction, such as flamingos, vicuñas, guanacos and chinchillas, in addition to a very diverse ecosystem.
Along with the loss of tons of water in the driest place on the planet, large saline waste is generated. The extensive pools form mirrors of water that cause the death of birds.
“These fragile Atacama salt flats are a refuge for the diverse Andean life, biological corridors of the Altiplano. They are not mines, they are ecosystems,” warns Cristina Dorador, professor at the University of Antofagasta.
They also allow the subsistence of Colla indigenous people who have lived in these areas for years, and who fear that lithium will be the death knell for gold and copper.
“It is wanting to exterminate the little biodiversity that we have left”complains Cristopher Castillo, 25, from a small Colla community of nomadic shepherds.
The Colla number about 20,000 throughout Chile and the lack of water has expelled them from the mountain range to the cities.
“If we dry the salt flats it won’t rain anymore, it won’t snow anymore and that chains everything; all biodiversity is going to decline”Adds Castillo.
Complex tasks, positive results
Aguilar and La Isla, in Diego de Almagro (800 km north of Santiago), are at the southern end of the Atacama Desert.
The nearest airport is eight hours away along a dirt road that reveals the vestiges of other mining booms.
Abandoned villages, rusty water wells and the disused line of an old railway are lost among the arid mountains that show off ocher, violet and greenish tones.
About 50 people work in the Enami camp, in shifts of 14 days of work and 14 days of rest. They sleep in tents where they withstand the cold and wind.
“We have had very positive results. The quality of the lithium or what we have been obtaining from samples has been very favorable“, says Cristhian Moreno, head of the camp, at the feet of a drilling machine that drills unstoppably.
Enami enabled a consultation with the indigenous population of the area, in accordance with the regulations of the International Labor Organization (ILO) so that, depending on the result, these communities can negotiate with the company the conditions of lithium exploitation.
In this framework, Enami plans for the project to migrate to a “direct extraction” that would allow reducing the use of water and the occupied surface, explained a statement from the firm in Santiago.
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
