* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Sunday, June 29, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Susquehanna Raises Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN) Price Target. – Yahoo Finance

    Susquehanna Raises Price Target for Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN)

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    Netflix unveils Dallas immersive venue for fans of hit shows like ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Stranger Things’ – Houston Chronicle

    Step Inside Netflix’s New Dallas Immersive Experience Featuring Hits Like ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Stranger Things

    ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’: Civic Players bring ‘Young Frankenstein’ to life – Yahoo

    Civic Players Deliver a Hilarious and Unforgettable Performance of ‘Young Frankenstein

    ‘Wheel of Fortune’: Amputee Wins $60,000 After Breaking Incredible ‘Curse’ – Hastings Tribune

    Wheel of Fortune’ Amputee Breaks Incredible ‘Curse’ to Win $60,000!

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Emerging Memory and Storage Technology Market Analysis Report 2025-2034 | AI and HPC Boom Fuels Surging Demand for Fast, Low-Power Memory Devices – Yahoo Finance

    How AI and HPC Are Driving Explosive Growth in Fast, Low-Power Memory Technologies Through 2034

    Ostin Technology (OST): Volatility’s Warning or Contrarian Opportunity? – AInvest

    Ostin Technology (OST): Navigating Market Volatility – Red Flag or Hidden Opportunity?

    St. Francis Medical Center brings advanced robotic surgery technology to Northeast Louisiana – KNOE

    St. Francis Medical Center brings advanced robotic surgery technology to Northeast Louisiana – KNOE

    Wayve Expands Engineering Leadership to Power Next-Gen Autonomous Driving Technology – Silicon Canals

    Wayve Boosts Engineering Leadership to Accelerate Next-Gen Autonomous Driving Innovation

    Frontdoor Announces Tech Expert Dr. Bala Ganesh as Chief Technology Officer – Business Wire

    Frontdoor Appoints Tech Visionary Dr. Bala Ganesh as New Chief Technology Officer

    Defense technology giant Northrop Grumman to host interviews in Iuka to fill technician roles – supertalk.fm

    Defense technology giant Northrop Grumman to host interviews in Iuka to fill technician roles – supertalk.fm

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Susquehanna Raises Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN) Price Target. – Yahoo Finance

    Susquehanna Raises Price Target for Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN)

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    Netflix unveils Dallas immersive venue for fans of hit shows like ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Stranger Things’ – Houston Chronicle

    Step Inside Netflix’s New Dallas Immersive Experience Featuring Hits Like ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Stranger Things

    ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’: Civic Players bring ‘Young Frankenstein’ to life – Yahoo

    Civic Players Deliver a Hilarious and Unforgettable Performance of ‘Young Frankenstein

    ‘Wheel of Fortune’: Amputee Wins $60,000 After Breaking Incredible ‘Curse’ – Hastings Tribune

    Wheel of Fortune’ Amputee Breaks Incredible ‘Curse’ to Win $60,000!

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Emerging Memory and Storage Technology Market Analysis Report 2025-2034 | AI and HPC Boom Fuels Surging Demand for Fast, Low-Power Memory Devices – Yahoo Finance

    How AI and HPC Are Driving Explosive Growth in Fast, Low-Power Memory Technologies Through 2034

    Ostin Technology (OST): Volatility’s Warning or Contrarian Opportunity? – AInvest

    Ostin Technology (OST): Navigating Market Volatility – Red Flag or Hidden Opportunity?

    St. Francis Medical Center brings advanced robotic surgery technology to Northeast Louisiana – KNOE

    St. Francis Medical Center brings advanced robotic surgery technology to Northeast Louisiana – KNOE

    Wayve Expands Engineering Leadership to Power Next-Gen Autonomous Driving Technology – Silicon Canals

    Wayve Boosts Engineering Leadership to Accelerate Next-Gen Autonomous Driving Innovation

    Frontdoor Announces Tech Expert Dr. Bala Ganesh as Chief Technology Officer – Business Wire

    Frontdoor Appoints Tech Visionary Dr. Bala Ganesh as New Chief Technology Officer

    Defense technology giant Northrop Grumman to host interviews in Iuka to fill technician roles – supertalk.fm

    Defense technology giant Northrop Grumman to host interviews in Iuka to fill technician roles – supertalk.fm

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home General

Rapid growth of Bolivia’s lithium industry creating new problems for local communities

April 16, 2024
in General
Rapid growth of Bolivia’s lithium industry creating new problems for local communities
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A lithium plant is using untested equipment and potentially mismanaging its use of freshwater, raising concerns for residents about whether the Bolivian government can responsibly manage the rapid growth of the industry.Activists are concerned about what they found during a recent inspection of lithium facilities in the Salar de Uyuni, a salt flat with an estimated 21 million tons of lithium.They called for increased transparency about what lithium facilities are able to produce and how much water and electricity they’re using.

Bolivia is racing to attract foreign investment in its massive, untapped lithium reserves, with plans to expand operations and build new processing plants. But residents living near the lithium deposits say there are too many problems with the facilities already in operation.

A lithium plant opened last year has untested equipment and is possibly mismanaging its use of freshwater, raising concerns for residents about whether the Bolivian government can responsibly manage the rapid growth of the industry.

The facilities are located in the Salar de Uyuni, a salt flat with an estimated 21 million tons of lithium. Located in the Department of Potosi, the salt flats are believed to be the largest lithium deposit in the world, and makes up one piece of the “Lithium Triangle” with neighboring Argentina and Chile.

“We want to see the industrialization of lithium,” Potosí senator Elena Aguilar told Mongabay. “But it has to be done responsibly for the sake of our natural resources, like water.”

Last month, several activist groups and senators toured the lithium processing facilities run by the state-owned Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB), the China Machinery Engineering Corporation and Beijing Maison Engineering Co. They discovered equipment that still wasn’t operational and found that officials were unsure how much water, electricity and chemicals they were using.

The facilities are designed to produce raw materials for batteries — including lithium carbonate and potassium chloride — while also treating the freshwater needed to carry out those processes. While two of the facilities opened last year, another has been operational since 2018.

Advocacy groups like the Regional Federation of Workers and Peasants of the Southern Altiplano (FRUTCAS) have been trying to get access to the facilities for over a year, claiming they have a right to know how the lithium industry uses their natural resources. After being denied several times, they were finally permitted to carry out an inspection last month.

Laguna Cañapa in Bolivia. Photo via Wikimedia.

During the inspection, they found that the potassium chloride plant was operating at less than 30% capacity. It’s supposed to produce 350,000 tons per year but has only managed to produce around 80,000 tons.

Equipment in the lithium carbonate plant isn’t operational, the organizations said in their presentation. Some equipment hasn’t even been unpacked and there isn’t enough electricity to power it. Operators there also didn’t know how much water was needed to meet production goals.

Many residents living around the salt flat have traditionally relied on tourism, the domestic salt market and agriculture, but they welcome the development of the lithium industry as long as they can benefit, too. However, profit-sharing plans only make sense if the plants are actually working. And they want to make sure that lithium production — which involves complex chemical treatment — doesn’t destroy the salt flat or exploit the little water available in the desert environment.

“The lithium carbonate industrial plant represents an enormous failure of management for a project that is vital to the economic development of the country,” organizations who toured the facilities said in a presentation. “That results in a considerable loss and economic impact for the state.”

YLB and Chinese operators couldn’t be reached for comment for this article.

The industry lacks transparency

The sophisticated technology that lithium extraction requires can’t be done by Bolivia alone, but the government also wants to ensure the industry isn’t overwhelmed by foreign entities. It nationalized lithium production in 2008 but suffered years of stalled pilot programs and investment agreements.

Today, foreign companies have to partner with the state-owned YLB to work in the country. In January, YLB launched a new international tender for lithium projects in the Salar de Uyuni and other salt flats in the region — a move critics say is premature.

YLB has favored foreign companies over local communities and kept details of its operations hidden, FRUCTAS claims. Even during the inspection, the government restricted access to information about the facilities. Officials still haven’t shared several hydrological studies that could help mitigate environmental impacts, they said.

“Right now, everything is handled secretly,” said FRUCTAS executive secretary Yamile Cruz. “Nothing is public and that’s what makes us think twice, what makes us have doubts.”

She added, “We have to think about future generations, about the future of our children — because water is life. But as long as there isn’t that information, as long as we don’t have specific studies, everything is uncertain.”

Banner image: Salt flats in Bolivia. Photo via Flickr(CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the author of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.

Ecuador-China free trade agreement poses serious environmental risks, critics say

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : MongaBay – https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/rapid-growth-of-bolivias-lithium-industry-creating-new-problems-for-local-communities/

Previous Post

It will take 880 years to achieve UN ocean conservation goals, at this rate (commentary)

Next Post

Climate change could drive mammal extinction in Brazil’s Caatinga, study warns

Murder, she measured: The impressive science behind Agatha Christie’s poisons – Big Think

Deadly Secrets Unveiled: The Fascinating Science Behind Agatha Christie’s Poisons

June 28, 2025
Science and social norms – Golf Course Management magazine

How Science is Revolutionizing Social Norms in Golf Course Management

June 28, 2025
Study Links Skipping Breakfast to Poor Diet and Lifestyle Habits in Teens – Olive Oil Times

Study Links Skipping Breakfast to Poor Diet and Lifestyle Habits in Teens – Olive Oil Times

June 28, 2025
What Worries the World – June 2025 – Ipsos

Top Global Concerns Shaping June 2025

June 28, 2025
Small business owners aren’t jumping for joy about the US economy – but they still aren’t jumping ship – The Guardian

Small Business Owners Hold Firm Amid Ongoing Uncertainty About the US Economy

June 28, 2025
U.S. uninsured rates could resurge if Trump’s budget bill passes – NPR

U.S. Uninsured Rates Could Surge if Trump’s Budget Bill Becomes Law

June 28, 2025
Emerging Memory and Storage Technology Market Analysis Report 2025-2034 | AI and HPC Boom Fuels Surging Demand for Fast, Low-Power Memory Devices – Yahoo Finance

How AI and HPC Are Driving Explosive Growth in Fast, Low-Power Memory Technologies Through 2034

June 28, 2025
Axios Event: Media execs are betting big on women’s sports – Axios

Axios Event: Media execs are betting big on women’s sports – Axios

June 28, 2025
Tellus Science Museum astronomer discusses meteorite landing in metro Atlanta – WSB-TV

Meteorite Crash-Lands in Metro Atlanta: Expert Insights from a Tellus Science Museum Astronomer

June 28, 2025
With pride and honor: How this queer couple achieved academic success – ABS-CBN

Triumph and Pride: The Inspiring Journey of a Queer Couple in Academia

June 28, 2025

Categories

Archives

June 2025
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 
« May    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (699)
  • Economy (722)
  • Entertainment (21,613)
  • General (15,609)
  • Health (9,761)
  • Lifestyle (727)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (723)
  • Politics (728)
  • Science (15,939)
  • Sports (21,218)
  • Technology (15,706)
  • World (702)

Recent News

Murder, she measured: The impressive science behind Agatha Christie’s poisons – Big Think

Deadly Secrets Unveiled: The Fascinating Science Behind Agatha Christie’s Poisons

June 28, 2025
Science and social norms – Golf Course Management magazine

How Science is Revolutionizing Social Norms in Golf Course Management

June 28, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version