Home
Drought, not lithium mining, is drying out Chile’s largest salt flat

Drought, not lithium mining, is drying out Chile’s largest salt flat

By November 6, 2022 Science 0 Comments


Lithium mining has been blamed for the drying out of a area within the Andes the place the steel is of course discovered – however drought could be the offender as a substitute

Setting



4 November 2022

By James Dinneen

An aerial view shows the brine pools and processing areas of the Soquimich (SQM) lithium mine on the Atacama salt flat, the world's second largest salt flat and the largest lithium deposit currently in production, with over a quarter of the world's known reserves, in the Atacama desert of northern Chile, January 10, 2013. SQM fertilizer company has fired its chief executive after it became embroiled in an election campaign financing scandal that has rocked the Chilean establishment, tainting business leaders and politicians with close links to the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Picture taken January 10, 2013. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado (CHILE - Tags: SOCIETY BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT POLITICS) - GM1EB3I04EU01

An aerial view of the brine swimming pools and processing areas of the SQM lithium mine in Chile

Ivan Alvarado/Reuters

Lithium manufacturing is usually blamed for drying up freshwater in South America’s “Lithium Triangle” – a area of the Andes mountains in Chile, Argentina and Bolivia which comprises a lot of the world’s lithium reserves. However a protracted drought might be behind a lot of the drying.

As a key element in batteries, lithium is crucial to transitioning away from fossil fuels. Demand for the comfortable white steel is projected to extend 40 instances by …

Related Posts