Uncertainties in the debate on the environmental impact of lithium brine extraction in the Salar de Atacama, Chile

Abstract

The global energy transition has dramatically increased the demand for raw materials, including lithium. The largest global reserves of lithium are situated in the salt flats of the Atacama Desert in Chile and the current boom is expected to result in an increase in production. Local communities and environmental NGOs fear a destabilisation of the vulnerable ecosystem of the salt flat. However, the mining companies present scientific studies that refute such claims. In this interdisciplinary research paper, this contradiction in the impact debate is further analysed and interpreted through a literature study and interviews with representatives of different stakeholders on location. What is observed is an unbalanced and possibly incomplete field of knowledge production, with a different role of the involved stakeholders. The state takes a passive position when it comes to monitor compliance of existing environmental legislation and lets the initiative for area and impact studies to the other stakeholders. This leaves the companies in a dominant position with their historical access to research equipment, technological knowhow and data. The communities lack the capacity to match the position of the companies and seem hesitant towards interacting with external researchers. In order to resolve this impasse and understand the long-term effect of large-scale lithium mining in the region, what is urgently needed is more independent research, ideally with a more proactive role of the state.