How Bolivian lithium could help fight climate change
But the country with the world’s largest resources is still struggling to extract them
THE SALAR DE UYUNI, a salt flat in southern Bolivia, is so vast and so white you can see it from the moon. It spans 10,000 square kilometres (4,000 square miles), roughly the area of Kosovo. The top layer consists of salt hexagons, thick enough to withstand the weight of Jeeps and igloo-like buildings made of blocks of salt. Underneath, a layer of brine holds the world’s largest deposits of lithium, a light and volatile metal used in batteries for smartphones, computers and electric vehicles.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “A salt and batteries”
From the December 11th 2021 edition
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