Be on the radar, move like flamingos: lithium in the north of Argentina.

CERUTTI DEBORA

Dublin

Conferencia; Post-Extractivist Landscapes and Legacies Conference; 2023

UCD Humanities Institute

More than 50percent of the world´s mineral reserves of lithium are in an area that includesChile, Bolivia and Argentina. Although it is present in rock along with otherminerals, the highest concentration exists in the Central Andes, in salt flatsand Andean endorheic basins. Hence the global relevance of a space that is inthe eye of corporations and that they have (wrongly) called the LithiumTriangle. As a result, comparisons are made forcefully: the Dubai of whitegold, the Saudi Arabia of Latin America, places where several wars were foughtfor the geopolitical control of oil. In Argentina, the triangle covers the provincesof Jujuy, Catamarca and Salta. In those provinces are located the largestextraction projects in the country. Lithium runs through our bodies: among those who sufferpathologies, among those who come into contact with technology. It is used inthe production of ceramics and glass, in the production of nuclear energy, airconditioning, synthetic rubber. Yet, the largest quantities of it are demandedfor the electro-informatics revolution: the growing demand for the use ofbatteries for storage in the production of electric vehicles has causedexponential growth in the lithium industry. Currently in Argentina, there are38 lithium projects in different stages of production, exploration andexploitation that are promoted by state public policies, despite the lack ofsocial consensus (licencia social) of the communities who live in thoseterritories.