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|title=Lithium Statistics and Information|publisher=USGS}}</ref>
Lithium is concentrated in the brine under the salt crust at a relatively high concentration of about 0.3%. It is also present in the top layers of the porous [[halite]] body lying under the brine; however, the liquid brine is easier to extract, by boring into the crust and pumping out the brine.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} The brine distribution has been monitored by the [[Landsat program|Landsat]] satellite and confirmed in ground drilling tests. Following those findings, an American-based international corporation has invested $137 million to developing lithium extraction.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j0QrAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA60 |page=60 |title=Science and technology for development: prospects entering the twenty-first century : a symposium in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the U.S. Agency for International Development |publisher=National Academies |year=1988 |author=National Research Council (U.S.). Board on Science and Technology for International Development, National Research Council (U.S.). Office of International Affairs}}</ref> However, lithium extraction in the 1980s and 1990s by foreign companies met strong opposition from the local community. Locals believed that the money infused by mining would not reach them.<ref name="BBC_electric_car">{{cite web |title=Bolivia holds key to electric car future |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7707847.stm |website=[[BBC News|BBC]]}}</ref> The lithium in the salt flats contains more impurities, and the wet climate and high altitude make it harder to process.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Eisler |first1=Matthew |title=Bolivian lithium: why you should not expect any 'white gold rush' in the wake of Morales overthrow |url=https://theconversation.com/bolivian-lithium-why-you-should-not-expect-any-white-gold-rush-in-the-wake-of-morales-overthrow-127139 |website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |language=en}}</ref>
No mining plant is currently at the site, and the Bolivian government does not want to allow exploitation by foreign corporations. Instead, it intends to reach an annual production of 35,000 t by 2023 in a joint venture with ACI Systems Alemania GmbH.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 December 2018 |title=Bolivia's Almost Impossible Lithium Dream |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-12-03/bolivia-s-almost-impossible-lithium-dream |access-date=26 March 2019 |newspaper=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]}}</ref><ref name=
Salar de Uyuni is estimated to contain 10 billion tonnes (9.8 billion long tons; 11 billion short tons) of salt, of which less than 25,000 t is extracted annually. All miners working in the Salar belong to Colchani's cooperative. Because of its ___location, large area, and flatness, the Salar is a major car transport route across the Bolivian [[Altiplano]],<ref name=nasa/> except when seasonally covered with water.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}
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