Languishing future of autwo industry in South American desertLithium Triangle of Chile, Argentina and Blivia that hold massive reserves face challenges in increasing productionLanguishing future of auto industry in South American desert
Massive pools of salty ground water in the middle of Atacama
desert in northern Chile are the future of automobiles. They are the source of
lithium that go into the making of electric vehicle batteries. These EVs are a
vital cog in the world’s attempt to rein in automobile pollution that is a
major element that fuels global warming.
"It's really, really a beautiful place," Marcelo
Valdebenito, a public relations officer for Albemarle Corp., the Charlotte,
N.C.-based chemical company that operates the mine, told NPR. "This is the
lithium that powers the world."
Record high prices
The International Energy Agency estimates a 40-fold increase
in demand for lithium by 2040. Lithium prices have hit record highs this year,
according to the report.
The rising demand for lithium is good news for mining
companies in Chile as the South American country is the second-largest lithium
producer behind Australia. Chile along with Argentina and Bolivia, known as the
"lithium triangle," holds more than half of the world's proven
lithium reserves.
Annual production at the Albemarle mine has risen from
22,000 tons to 84,000 tons since 2016, says Ignacio Mehech, the company's
country manager in Chile.
"We are growing as the demand is growing and today we
are a much bigger company," Mehech told NPR, adding that the company now
has 1,000 employees in Chile, up from 250 five years ago.
Bolivian President Luis Arce pledges to make his country
"the world capital of lithium" and supply 40% of the metal’s global
demand by 2030. But there are challenges. Access to technology is one of them.
There is severe community resistance because of the environmental pollution the
mines cause. Moreover, heavy state intervention in the economy is slowing the
progress of the industry in Bolivia.
Meanwhile, the continuing economic turmoil has affected Argentina’s
bid to operate more mines.
Mehech says Chile has high taxes and strict mining
regulations. The red tape for production permits involves securing approval
from the nation's nuclear energy commission since the metal can be used in
nuclear power and weapons, the NPR report says.
"It is very difficult and that's why you don't see more
lithium companies in Chile," Mehech says of Albemarle, which he says is
one of just two companies producing lithium in Chile.
Mehech acknowledges that lithium mining uses a lot of
groundwater but claims the tradeoff is worth it. He points out that the amount
of water required to produce enough lithium for an electric car battery is
about the same amount needed to produce a half pound of beef or 11 avocados.
The avocados, he says, will last for just a few days,
"but a lithium battery lasts for 10 years and then you can recycle
it."
