The high-stakes fight over Bolivia's lithium

[Judi Lynn]

Bolivia has the largest known resources of lithium. Can it build an industry to supply the world's growing demand?
Maddie Stone February 16, 2020

Nearly 12,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean in the Bolivian Altiplano, the crystalline remnants of ancient lake beds form odd geometric patterns that sprawl, with unearthly flatness, to distant, mountain-studded horizons. This is the Salar de Uyuni, a salt flat, or salar, so large it's visible from space. Beneath its surface: Earth's largest known deposit of lithium, a metal critical to the lightweight, high-performance batteries found inside laptops, smartphones, electric cars and renewable power storage facilities.

For more than a decade, Bolivia has labored, unsuccessfully, to commercialize its lithium riches through an ambitious state-run project championed by former President Evo Morales. When Morales was forced out in November amid accusations of election fraud, the project's future was thrown into question. Some, including Morales himself, speculated that nefarious U.S.-backed lithium interests were a driving force behind the socialist government's collapse.

The truth, it turns out, is far more complex. And — with elections looming this spring — so, too, is the future of Bolivia's lithium.

Will the government continue pursuing Morales' dream of a state-run lithium industry that lifts the entire nation out of poverty? Or will it fling open the doors to foreign investors? It's a local political fight, but these questions reverberate far beyond Bolivia's borders. According to industry experts, Bolivia could yet become a lithium powerhouse with the right technology and under the right leadership — and if that were to happen, it would reshape an industry at the very center of the green energy revolution.

More:
https://www.protocol.com/bolivia-lithium-morales

[DanieRains]

1. Good Luck Finding The Water Judi

It isn't pretty.

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact