In the face of the possibility of advancing in the extraction of lithium in a protected area of Mendoza, the Salinas del Diamante, alarms have been raised in the area.
For some months now, an ambitious project driven by Australian capital has been echoing. It involves an activity that requires the use of key resources such as water, in addition to generating other consequences.
That’s why activist groups aim to protect the area for its wetlands, ecosystem, and biodiversity.
Alarm in the Salinas del Diamante: why protection is requested
According to the local media Diario San Rafael, the project aims to work with systems framed by Law 7722, which regulates mining activity in the province of Mendoza.
However, some groups have expressed their rejection and are calling for protection of the Salinas del Diamante area for its resources.
The Water Assembly communicated a strong claim through social networks. “In San Rafael a few kilometers from the Atuel River, in the Salinas del Diamante, there is a lithium extraction project,” they reported.
In the text, they detail the characteristics of the ecosystem and emphasize the need for protection. “They are aquatic ecosystems, wetlands, water reservoirs, and concentrate a great biodiversity. They are not mines,” clarifies the group.
Lithium extraction from salt flats.
In that line, they pointed out the extraction methods to obtain lithium. “To extract one ton of lithium, more than 2 million liters of water are needed.” Therefore, “the lithium extraction process requires huge amounts of water, causing droughts,” they warned.
The amount of water required is one of the points that activists often argue when discussing lithium extraction.
Additionally, among other issues, they point out that the activity could lead to contamination of underground aquifers, “air pollution, and soil damage.”
A protected area
The Salinas del Diamante is a protected area in the province of Mendoza, formed by the evaporation of seawater. They are located in the El Nihuil district, on the road between San Rafael and Malargüe.
The salt flat covers approximately 2500 hectares, and the soil has a purity of over 98%.
According to records, it was formed in the Cenozoic era, when the continents separated and the Andes mountain range emerged.
Lithium and implications for environmental health
In a report published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters in January, Vengosh and Williams conducted the first comprehensive chemical analysis of the wastewater associated with lithium brine extraction, in this case, in the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.
There are 21 million tons of lithium stored there, making it the largest global reserve of this mineral.
Bolivia’s lithium reserve. (Photo: IC Photo).
The findings could help manage future mining operations more sustainably and protect the fragile environment of the salt flat.
The lithium brine extraction currently involves a multi-step process: the brine is pumped from the subsurface to a series of evaporation ponds. As the liquid evaporates, unwanted salts precipitate, but the lithium becomes more concentrated in the brine at each stage. Finally, the concentrated brine is moved to a nearby facility to be processed into lithium carbonate, the material used in rechargeable batteries.
Lithium extraction in the Salar de Uyuni is still in preliminary stages. However, research has shown that prolonged extraction of brines in other salt flats, such as the Salar de Atacama in Chile, can lead to decreased groundwater levels and land subsidence. These impacts could affect the future of lithium mining in Uyuni, according to Vengosh.
In their study, Williams and Vengosh analyzed the chemistry of the brine and waste from a pilot mining operation in the Salar de Uyuni. They were interested in the acidity and the presence of elements like arsenic, a toxic metal that can cause health problems in exposed humans and wildlife.
The samples included natural subsurface brine, brine from evaporation ponds, and wastewater from the processing plant.
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