Lithium Triangle: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Region of theSouth AndesAmerica rich in lithium}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

[[File:Triangulo del lito.png|thumb|The Lithium Triangle within the [[Arid Diagonal]] of South America|250px]]

The '''Lithium Triangle''' ({{lang-langx|es|Triángulo del Litio}}) is a region of the [[Andes]] that is rich in [[lithium]] reserves, encompassed by the borders of [[Argentina]], [[Bolivia]], and [[Chile]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anlauf |first1=Axel |editor-last1=Pichler |editor-first1=Melanie|editor-last2=Staritz |editor-first2=Cornelia |editor-last3=Küblböck |editor-first3=Karin |editor-last4=Plank |editor-first4=Christina |editor-last5=Raza |editor-first5=Werner |editor-last6=Ruiz Peyré |editor-first6=Fernando |date=2016 |chapter=Greening the imperial mode of living? Socio- ecological (in)justice, electromobility, and lithium mining in Argentina |title=Fairness and Justice in Natural Resource Politics }}</ref> The lithium in the triangle is concentrated in various [[salt pan (geology)|salt pans]] that exist along the [[Atacama Desert]] and [[Arid Diagonal|neighboring arid areas]]. The largest areas three main salt pans that define its vertices are the [[Salar de Uyuni]] in Bolivia, [[Salar de Atacama]] in Chile, and [[Salar del Hombre Muerto]] in Argentina. Of these, the core of [[Salar de Atacama]] in [[Chile]] has the highest concentration of lithium (0.15% by weight) among all world's brine sources.<ref name=Sizematters/>{{efn-ua|The shapecause offor the areahigh contraction of interestlithium forin lithiumthe resourcesbrines inof saltSalar pansde isAtacama howeveris not afully triangleclear butas morevarious ofcompeting ahypothesis crescentexists.<ref startingname=udec>{{Cite withbook [[Salar|title=¿Cómo dese Surire]]forman (19°las S)aguas inricas theen northlitio anden endingel withSalar de Atacama? |last=Álvarez Amado |first=Fernanda |date= |publisher=[[SalarUniversity of Concepción|Universidad de MaricungaConcepción]] (27°|year=2023 S)|trans-title=How indoes the south.<reflithium-rich namewaters of Salar de Atacama form?|series=Sizematters>{{CiteSerie Comunicacional CRHIAM journal|titlelast2=BrinePoblete gradesGonzález in|first2=Camila Andean|last3=Matte salars:Estrada When|first3=Daniel basin|last4=Campos sizeQuiroz matters|first4=Dilan A|last5=Tardani review|first5=Daniele of|last6=Gutiérrez the|first6=Leopoldo Lithium|last7=Arumí Triangle|journalfirst7=José Luis|language=es}}</ref> It is suggested that high [[Earth-Sciencegeothermal Reviewsgradient]]s and altitude differences in the hydrological basin enhances the [[Leaching (chemistry)|urlleaching]] of lithium from rocks and minerals.<ref name=https:udec//www> The volcanoes east of Salar de Atacama may have a role in contaminating the incoming streams with salts.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001282522100115X|last1<ref name=LópezBorgel1983>{{cite book Steinmetz|first1last=RominaBörgel Olivares Lucrecia|yearfirst=2021Reinaldo |doidate=10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.1036151983 |last2title=Salvi|first2=StefanoGeografía de Chile|volume=217Tomo II: Geomorfología |bibcodepublisher=2021ESRv..21703615L[[Instituto Geográfico Militar]] |s2cidpages=23384621159–62 |language=es}}</ref> BecauseSome oflitium-rich thiswaters itentering hasSalar beende Atacama are proposedthought to renamehave been previously concentrated at salt lakes at higher elevation.<ref name=udec/> An important factor for the further concentration and preservation of lithium in the brines of the salt flat is the high [[evapotranspiration]] in the area '''Lithiumwhich Crescent'''is related to the extreme aridity and the high solar radiation in the area.<ref name=Sizemattersudec/>}}

The shape of the area of interest for lithium resources in salt pans is however not a triangle but more of a crescent starting with [[Salar de Surire]] (19° S) in the north and ending with [[Salar de Maricunga]] (27° S) in the south.<ref name=Sizematters>{{Cite journal|title=Brine grades in Andean salars: When basin size matters A review of the Lithium Triangle|journal=[[Earth-Science Reviews]]|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001282522100115X|last1=López Steinmetz|first1=Romina Lucrecia|year=2021|doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103615|last2=Salvi|first2=Stefano|volume=217|bibcode=2021ESRv..21703615L |s2cid=233846211 }}</ref> Because of this it has been proposed to rename the area '''Lithium Crescent'''.<ref name=Sizematters/>

As of 2017 the area was thought to hold around 54% of the world's lithium reserves,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://resourceworld.com/lithium-triangle/|title=South America's prospective - The Lithium Triangle|author=Ellsworth Dickson|work=Resource World|access-date=7 December 2019|year=2017}}</ref> however, these reserves, which are the largest in size and the highest in quality in the world, are not expected to make the surrounding countries wealthy, as oil has done for the [[Gulf Countries|Gulf countries]]. For example, the total amount of lithium minerals in [[Chile]] is worth "less than Saudi Arabia's three years' worth of oil exports."<ref>[https://oceanofpdf.com/authors/lukasz-bednarski/pdf-epub-lithium-the-global-race-for-battery-dominance-and-the-new-energy-revolution-download/?id=000715884250 Lithium: The Global Race for Battery Dominance and the New Energy Revolution.] 2021. L. Bednarski. {{ISBN|1787386732}}. p. 97.</ref>

Annual production in the early 2020’s was as follows: 140,000 tons per year in Chile,<ref>{{Harv|Dube|2022|ps="Chile has expanded output at its existing operations by 80% since 2016 to about 140,000 tons annually”}}</ref> 33,000 tons per year in Argentina,<ref>{{Harv|Quinn|2024|ps="En 2022, Argentina produjo 33.000 toneladas de LCE, el segundo país de la región y el cuarto del mundo"}}</ref> and 600 en portons per year in Bolivia.<ref>{{Harv|Quinn|2024|ps="la producción solo alcanzó 600 toneladas de LCE el año pasado"}}</ref>

==Background==

Currently, many countries situated in the [[Global North and Global South|Global North]] are trying to incorporate [[technocratic solutions]] in order to achieve sustainability directives.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parks, B. & Roberts, J. |title=Inequality and the global climate regime: breaking the north-south impasse |publisher=Routledge |year=2009 |isbn=9781315876177 |pages=161–191}}</ref> Many of these directives include solutions for which [[lithium]] is an essential resource, e.g., the shift to electric vehicles and battery storage systems. Yet, in most Global North countries, lithium is not nearly as abundant as in the lithium triangle. Therefore, contemporary power relations in [[geopolitics]] have enabled Global North countries to expand their [[resource frontier]] to the lithium triangle, touching upon notions of [[green extractivism]], to accommodate their needs at the expense of the [[Global North and Global South|Global South]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Vera |first1=María L. |last2=Torres |first2=Walter R. |last3=Galli |first3=Claudia I. |last4=Chagnes |first4=Alexandre |last5=Flexer |first5=Victoria |date=March 2023 |title=Environmental impact of direct lithium extraction from brines |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-022-00387-5 |journal=Nature Reviews Earth & Environment |language=en |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=149–165 |doi=10.1038/s43017-022-00387-5 |bibcode=2023NRvEE...4..149V |issn=2662-138X|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Voskoboynik, D.M., & Andreucci, D. |date=2022 |title=Greening extractivism: environmental impact of direct lithium extraction from brines |journal=Nature Reviews Earth & Environment |volume=4 |pages=149–165}}</ref> This green extractivist practice taking place in the lithium triangle leads to severe impact on the environment and socio-economic/socio-cultural [[livelihood]]s of local residents.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Agusdinata |first1=Datu Buyung |last2=Liu |first2=Wenjuan |last3=Eakin |first3=Hallie |last4=Romero |first4=Hugo |date=November 2018 |title=Socio-environmental impacts of lithium mineral extraction: towards a research agenda |journal=Environmental Research Letters |language=en |volume=13 |issue=12 |pages=123001 |doi=10.1088/1748-9326/aae9b1 |bibcode=2018ERL....13l3001B |issn=1748-9326|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Dorn, F. M., Hafner, R., & Plank, C. |date=2022 |title=Towards a climate change consensus"how mining and agriculture legitimize green extractivism in Argentina |journal=The Extractive Industries and Society|volume=11 |doi=10.1016/j.exis.2022.101130 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Giglio, E. |date=2022 |title=Extractivism and its socio-environmental impact in South America. Overview of the Lithium Triangle |journal=América Crítica |pages=47–53}}</ref>

According to ''[[The Economist]]'', Argentina was, by November 2022, the country with most ongoing lithium extraction projects; in total 40.<ref name=TheEco22>{{Cite news |title=Argentina could help the world by becoming a big lithium exporter |date=2022-11-15 |access-date=2023-04-21 |newspaper=[[The Economist]]|url=https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2022/11/15/argentina-could-help-the-world-by-becoming-a-big-lithium-exporter}}</ref> By one estimate Argentina could displace Chile as the second largest lithium producer by 2027.<ref name=TheEco22/> Similarly, there are estimates that posit Argentina producing 16% of the World's lithium by 2030 instead of the 6% it produced in 2021.<ref name=TheEco22/> Low [[royalty payment]]s when compared to Chile are cited by ''The Economist'' as a particular advantage.<ref name=TheEco22/>

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The indigenous inhabitants of Salar de Atacama basin –the [[Atacama people|Likan Antay]]– have a history of both opposing lithium extraction and negotiating for [[shared benefits]] with lithium companies.<ref name=Lorca/><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Janetsky |first1=Megan |last2=Caivano |first2=Victor R. |last3=Abd |first3=Rodrigo |date=2024-03-13 |title=Native groups sit on a treasure trove of lithium. Now mines threaten their water, culture and wealth |url=https://apnews.com/article/lithium-water-mining-indigenous-cb2f5b1580c12f8ba1b19223648069b7 |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> Negotiations occur under the framework of the [[Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989|Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention]] which Chile signed in 2008.<ref name=Lorca/> It is argued that "[a]greements between Indigenous organizations and lithium companies have brought significant economic resources for community development, but have also expanded the mining industry's capacity for social control in the area.".<ref name=Lorca>{{Cite journal |title=Mining indigenous territories: Consensus, tensions and ambivalences in the Salar de Atacama |journal=The Extractive Industries and Society |last1=Lorca |first1=Mauricio |volume=9 |last2=Olivera Andrade |first2=Manuel |doi=10.1016/j.exis.2022.101047 |year=2022 |last3=Escosteguy |first3=Melisa |last4=Köppel |first4=Jonas |last5=Scoville-Simonds |first5=Morgan |last6=Hufty |first6=Marc|page=101047 |s2cid=246456703 |doi-access=free |hdl=11250/3011598 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

This control is rooted in a dominant discourse that has taken root in the global rush to a sustainable future in light of global [[climate change]].<ref name=":0" /> With lithium being a key strategic resource is facilitating this shift, many countries are rushing to acquire as much as possible.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dorn |first1=Felix M. |last2=Ruiz Peyré |first2=Fernando |date=2020 |title=Lithium as a Strategic Resource: Geopolitics, Industrialization, and Mining in Argentina |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/15/article/772602 |journal=Journal of Latin American Geography |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=68–90 |doi=10.1353/lag.2020.0101 |s2cid=226967147 |issn=1548-5811|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Any form of protest against such mining operations is deemed to be an opposition to climate change, ergo hindering the global agenda in combatting climate change.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> This discourse has resulted in the marginalisation of opposed indigenous voices rendering them nearly powerless.<ref name=":0" />

==See also==

* {{annotated link|Lithium Valley}}

* {{section link|Lithium|Production}}

* Chile's [[National Lithium Strategy]]

* [[Lithium mining in Bolivia]]

== Notes ==

{{notelist-ua}}

==References==