Regional focus


and even caused a lively constitutional debate. Not that the situation is hopeless: by investing in new technology and borrowing extraction methods from overseas, Chile could yet ensure its lithium industry works for everyone.


Salt of the earth Fundamentally, Chile’s lithium problems can be understood geologically. The so-called white gold is typically found in saltwater brines, hidden under vast flats in the country’s far north. To access the lithium, mining companies first extract the brine with pumps, then direct it to large pools. As the sun beats down on these pools over several months, the water evaporates. That leaves behind a mix of pure lithium and waste products – the latter removed via the magic of chemistry. Cheap and effective, this technique has helped the Atacama’s lithium industry explode. From just 20km2


in 1997, the area being


exploited has effectively quadrupled. More to the point, says Dr David Whittle, a research fellow at Monash University, the industry is likely to become even more crucial. “Due to the rapidly increasing demand for lithium and its contribution to a low carbon future, it is generally considered to have strategic importance,” Whittle explains. All good news. Investigate the details, however, and difficulties soon appear. For one thing, that brine only contains 0.15% lithium – meaning mining companies have to extract vast amounts of water to make ends meet. For another, 95% of the extracted water is lost to evaporation forever. In a region where it only rains about 15mm a year, and where some weather stations have never registered precipitation, it’s no wonder that many locals are profoundly uncomfortable about the industry’s success. That’s doubly true, explains Dr Tim Werner, given the knock-on effects extraction can have on other water sources. “Surrounding communities will typically view these deposits as water resources,” says Werner, a research fellow at the University of Melbourne. “When they are extracted, linked freshwater aquifers in surrounding areas are drawn down, making it more difficult for communities to access water for their own purposes.”


Nor is this just a hypothetical problem. Some Atacamans are already complaining about not being able to grow their staple peas and potatoes, or make money extracting salt, which also needs water. Even worse, there’s some evidence that Chile’s mining giants aren’t fulfilling their obligations to residents. Though companies like Albemarle and SQM have invested in local communities, repairing schools and offering jobs, both have been accused of extracting more than their legal quota of salt water. Indeed, in 2019, a court upheld a complaint that SQM was over-extracting brine. Certainly, the status quo is unsustainable. With one study calculating that 8,842L


World Mining Frontiers / www.nsenergybusiness.com


of brine is extracted from the Atacama’s dust every second – despite a ‘recharge capacity’ of just 6,810L – that’s quickly bound to leave a shortfall. And though these numbers may sound precise, in practice it’s often hard to know exactly what impact lithium extraction is having on the Atacama and its people. Jorge Cantallopts, director of research and public policy at the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco), says that “several hydrogeological parameters are currently used to measure the stability and brine use” but the problem is that much of the action happens on private land. More to the point, mining companies are often shy about providing detailed statistics on their water consumption. Though academics like Tim Werner can use lithium production figures to take a stab at the numbers – bolstered by examining satellite photos of pond evaporation – he says that without detailed figures that’s always going to be a “guess at best”.


Political movement


The Chilean constitution has had a turbulent few decades. First introduced by the Pinochet dictatorship in 1980, it was mostly designed to ensure a perennial right-wing majority in the country’s parliament. During the referendum campaign to ratify the document, opponents of the regime were banned from television – while the official electoral roll was burned and 3,000 secret police agents supposedly voted more than once, according to the country’s La Nacion newspaper. No wonder, then, that since democracy was restored in 1990, Chile’s politicians have taken to reforming their most sacred document with gusto. Over the intervening 31 years, it’s been amended nearly 20 times, with tweaks covering everything from personal data to the status of Easter Island out in the Pacific. Over the span of Chilean politics, in other words, the newest changes are part of a long and established tradition. Yet when it comes to lithium, they could utterly transform the industry’s position – and future path. At the moment, all that precious brine is classified as a mineral. Though the government technically owns the brine, it gives private companies like Albemarle and SQM a licence to control their own lithium operations. If, however, the brine was reclassified as water under the new constitution, it would drag power away from miners – and give it to the indigenous people of the Atacama. All this is shadowed, says Werner, by voluntary regulations. “Momentum has been growing for impartial certification schemes that can guarantee responsible mining activities to international standards.” A good example, he notes, is the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), which now helps SQM prove it’s dealing fairly with local people. Though constitutions and regulators can certainly improve things, it’d be better to attack the problem at


8,842L


Of brine are extracted from the Atacama per second, greatly exceeding its


‘recharge capacity’ of 6,810L.


Committee of Non-Metallic Mining


10%


International Trade Administration


15


Of Chile’s GDP is made up by the mining industry.


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