Ecological Long term monitoring of the "LITHIUM TRIANGLE" in the light of the global mobile devices battery boom

GRAU, ALFREDO; CARILLA, JULIETA; IZQUIERDO, ANDREA; CASAGRANDA, ELVIRA; NAVARRO, CARLOS; GRAU, HECTOR RICARDO

Obergurgl

Workshop; Long Term Research Workshop; 2017

Since pre-Columbian times, the southern part of the high Andean plateau, or dry Puna, has been subjected to mining activities. Gold, silver, copper and other metals were the main focus in the past. At the present the region is undergoing a rush for its Lithium deposits. Lithium carbonate is the main commodity produced, and a range of lithium enriched salt brines are extracted from the area. With well over half of global lithium reserves (figures range from 60 % to 80 %) part of the area has been dubbed the lithium triangle.This plateau, second in size only to Tibet and shared by three countries, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, encloses approximately 300.000 km2 above 3500 m a.s.l., with the highest volcanoes and the largest dry salt lakes on earth. The region is arid in general, and aridity increases southwards, with wide areas receiving less than100 mm/y in Chile and Argentina. Dendroecological studies along a 600-year period usingPolylepis taracana, coupled with lake size using satellite images as proxy of rainfall in the Argentinean sector, indicate a strong drying trend for the last 50 years, in agreement with some climate change models. As in other arid regions, water resources are critical for human population, biodiversity and mining.In 2013, we started a monitoring project to establish a baseline in the Argentinean sector of the Puna, assessing vegetation, aquatic invertebrates, birds, livestock, wild camelids, and Andean bog (vegas) function. With approximately 1 % of the total area in the Argentinean sector, Andean bogs concentrate most livestock and biodiversity, and are the main water source for all uses. Data are embedded within a GIS framework which includes population, mining activities (past, actual and projected) and tourism.With a buoyant mobile device market and electric car numbers on the rise, Lithium price is set to increase in the coming years. According to some forecasts, demand will treble in 2025. While the social and ecological sustainability of the region should be of outmost concern for the three countries involved, its enormous share of the world lithium resources should attract global attention.