In South America’s ‘Lithium Triangle,’ a Struggle Between Tradition, Industry

In South America’s ‘Lithium Triangle,’ a Struggle Between Tradition, Industry

　　An area stretching across Argentina, Bolivia and Chile forms what is called the "Lithium Triangle." The earth there is rich in lithium, a necessary metal in creating batteries for electric cars and other products.

　　The international effort to develop technologies that do not use oil, gas or coal requires huge amounts of lithium. But small native communities in the Lithium Triangle are worried. They fear their way of life will disappear as industry pushes for new lithium mines. The mining takes place in low, dry areas known as "salt flats."

　　Stories from Argentina

　　Irene Leonor Flores de Callata is 68 years old. She lives in a desert area of Argentina where she keeps llamas and sheep. The life includes searching for fresh water on a usual basis.

　　Her town is one of 38 that surround salt flats called the Guayatoyoc Lagoon¹ and Salinas Grandes. People in the area earn some money from vacationing visitors and salt harvesting. They are a native people known as the Kolla.

　　Flores de Callata worries that if the mining expands in her area, there will be no water. She said: "What will we do if we don't have water? If the mines come, we'll lose our culture, we won't be left with anything."

　　Lithium's value

　　Between 2021 and 2023, the price for one ton of lithium almost tripled² in the U.S., reaching $46,000. In China, a main buyer of lithium reportedly paid $76,000 for one ton of the metal last year. Some call the metal "white gold."

　　Mining companies around the world are turning their attention to the Lithium Triangle. World leaders are also pushing for lithium production. In the United States, President Joe Biden said he aimed to have electric vehicles make up half of all sales in America by 2030. That would amount to about 8 million electric vehicles. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said: "Argentina is poised³ to play a critical role in building supply chains for critical minerals that will drive the economy of the 21st century, particularly things like lithium."

　　Although prices have recently dropped because of oversupply⁴, experts say worldwide demand is likely to rise in the future.

　　Environmental concerns in Chile

　　Two lithium mining companies operate in Chile, which borders Argentina to the west. SQM is a Chilean business and Albermarle is an American one. Valentín Barrera, a spokesman⁶ for SQM, said lithium is an answer to the problem climate change. "We want to grow, understanding that it's needed to mitigate⁷ climate change."

　　In Chile, SQM pumps thousands of liters of salt water out of the ground and then lets the water dry out in pools. The solids in the salty water contain lithium. The pools evaporate⁸, leaving a solid substance that is collected and purified⁹.

　　Environmentalists, however, are concerned that the mining in the area will harm animals like flamingos¹⁰ and other life. As in Argentina, mining has brought criticism and legal cases. Local people want influence in decisions about the land.

　　In 2016, an investigation¹¹ of SQM found that the company had used more water in their mining process than the law permitted. Later, the company was ordered to pay $51 million to mitigate damage caused by six incidents, including the polluting of fresh water wells.

　　Barrera said the court actions and criticism come from "disinformation." He blamed the state-run copper¹² mines, which also use a lot of water.

　　An Albermarle spokesperson said the underground salt water "is not water" because it is not drinkable.

　　The Associated Press (AP) spoke⁵ to a number of scientists. They said it is hard to believe that industrial water use does not affect the environment. They said water pumping can pollute fresh water with salty water and dry out the surrounding area.

　　Ingrid Garcés studies water at Chile's University of Antofagasta. She said the salt flats are important for different kinds of animal and plant life. She said the water in the salt flats is not drinkable but is connected to other water sources and is important to natives.

　　A 2020 report from the United Nations said that mining has used up 65 percent of the water in Chile's Atacama Salt Flat causing pollution and environmental damage, causing natives to leave "ancestral settlements."

　　In April of 2023, Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced a plan to increase government control of lithium mines. The government told the AP the plan would help control water use and spread wealth to more people. The move had the effect of pushing mining companies to invest in neighboring Argentina.

　　An opportunity and contradiction

　　Miguel Soler is secretary of mining in northern Argentina. He said, "In Argentina, (Chile's decision) is an opportunity."

　　More than 30 companies are officially seeking permission to mine in the Guayatoyoc Lagoon and Salinas Grandes areas in Argentina. Local people are opposing the business effort.

　　The llama herder Flores de Callata and her native Kolla people have fought against mining and brought long legal battles to halt projects in the past also.

　　"We are guardians¹⁴ of the highlands," said Flores de Callata, "We defend our land..."

　　Last summer, the local government changed laws to limit the ability of groups to protest against the expansion of mining. Alicia Chalabe, an environmental lawyer representing the communities, said the change to local law violates¹⁵ international law. She said there is a lot of "pressure to exploit lithium for electric vehicles." But she added, while lithium is important worldwide, "so is the resistance of these communities. They're not alone."

　　Flores de Callata lives in the small town of Tusaquillas next to the wide salt flats where mining might take place in the future. She has a small group of farm animals and lives in a home with dried mud walls that she and her husband built. She wonders what will be left in 20 years.

　　"If the mines come, we'll have money for a time. But then our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren—they're the ones who will suffer," she said.

　　Generations of Ramon Torres' family herded¹⁶ goats near a town close to Chile's Atacama Salt Flats. But when companies started mining lithium in the early 1980s, Torres took a job as a miner and started saving money.

　　Today, he uses his wireless¹⁷ phone as he sits next to his small home. He bought the house and his device with his earnings¹⁸ from mining.

　　"There is development, but there's also the water issue. And they contradict¹³ each other," Torres said. "Because everyone needs money, everyone also needs the basics, like healthcare and education."

　　Words in This Story

　　battery –n. a device that stores electricity providing direct current

　　poised –adj. in the right condition to do something; about to

　　mitigate –v. to limit or ease a possibly damaging situation

　　pool –n. a very small body of water

　　evaporate –v. to dry up

　　opportunity –n. a chance to do something that did not exist before

　　contradict –v. to not be in agreement with something

1 lagoon   

n.泻湖，咸水湖

参考例句：

• The lagoon was pullulated with tropical fish.那个咸水湖聚满了热带鱼。
• This area isolates a restricted lagoon environment.将这一地区隔离起来使形成一个封闭的泻湖环境。

2 tripled   

v.（使）增至三倍( triple的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The enemy tripled his strength. 敌军把兵力增加到原来的三倍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He tripled his income. 他使他的收入增加两倍[增至三倍]。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

4 oversupply   

n.供应过量；v.过度供给

参考例句：

• The market softened because of oversupply.市场因供过于求而疲软。
• Overexpansion of tea fields has led to oversupply.茶园过度扩张，使得市场上逐渐供过于求。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

7 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

8 evaporate   

vi.蒸发，挥发，消失；vt.使蒸发，使挥发

参考例句：

• Clearly,the star wars problem was not going to evaporate.显然，星球大战问题并没有不了了之。
• It will evaporate like a spirit.它将来总要像幽灵一样化成云烟。

9 purified   

adj.纯净的

参考例句：

• The air in the room was purified. 房间的空气得到了净化。
• Water can be purified by filtration through sand. 水通过沙滤可以变清。

10 flamingos   

n.红鹳，火烈鸟（羽毛粉红、长颈的大涉禽）( flamingo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Flamingos stand in a salt lake in Larnaca, Cyprus. 塞浦路斯的拉纳卡市一个盐湖中的火烈鸟。 来自互联网
• The research started researchers studied greater flamingos and in a bird sanctuary in southern Spain. 研究人员在西班牙南部的一个鸟类保护区对大型火烈鸟进行研究。 来自互联网

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

13 contradict   

vt.反驳，否认...的真实性，与...发生矛盾

参考例句：

• Young children should never contradict what their parents say.孩子们绝对不应顶撞父母。
• They contradict each other all the time.他们总是相互抵触。

14 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

15 violates   

亵渎( violate的第三人称单数 )； 违反； 侵犯； 强奸

参考例句：

• Anyone who violates law and discipline must firmly be slapped down. 对于任何违法乱纪的人都必须坚决予以打击。
• The country violates the international agreements. 那个国家违背了国际协议。

16 herded   

群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动

参考例句：

• He herded up his goats. 他把山羊赶拢在一起。
• They herded into the corner. 他们往角落里聚集。

17 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

18 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。