Lithium tug of war: the US-China contention for Argentina’s white gold
As world competition hots up to win lithium provides for batteries, China is boosting its investments in Argentina whereas the US courts President Javier Milei
Within the distant reaches of the Argentine Andes, amid the rugged expanse of the high-altitude Puna space, the set aside bone-chilling winds and freezing temperatures reign, the town of Mina La Casualidad as soon as thrived.
No topic its isolation, a nearby sulfur mine gave purpose to the town in the northwest province of Salta. For a long time, mine staff and their households made this inhospitable space their residence.
As of late, La Casualidad is a ghost town. The mine’s closure in 1979 sealed the settlement’s destiny. Rubble and empty streets now stand among snowy mountain peaks and the silence of the salt apartments.
Nevertheless a brand unique surge in mining exercise has gripped the residence, this time targeted on the white-hot flee for lithium. The gentle-weight metal is serious for manufacturing rechargeable batteries for energy storage and electric cars – technologies at the cornerstone of making neat economies.
Left simply about untouched for millions of years, the salt apartments of the carefully populated Puna plateaus are being transformed loyal into a bustling lithium manufacturing centre, bringing both unique financial opportunities and concerns of environmental degradation.
Salta’s mining secretary Romina Sassarini facets to the likely advantages for native of us. “We reveal that mining can elevate comely style to these historically marginalised communities, which lack water, sewage programs and electricity,” she instructed Climate Dwelling Files in an interview.
Be taught the account right here.
