The ‘Alterlives’ of Green Extractivism: Lithium Mining and Exhausted Ecologies in the Atacama Desert

• Published in: Revue internationale de politique de développement Vol. 16; no. 16
• Main Authors: Blair, James J. A, Balcázar, Ramón M, Barandiarán, Javiera, Maxwell, Amanda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement 12-06-2023; Institut de Hautes Études Internationales et du Développement
• Subjects: critical materials (nickel; extractivism; graphite; lithium; mining; renewable energy; Argentina; America Latin and Caribbean; Chile; Bolivia; participation; extractivism; health; cobalt; civil society; mining; graphite; manganese; renewable energy; lithium; environment; critical materials (nickel; inclusive development
• ISSN: 1663-9383; 1663-9375; 1663-9391
• DOI: 10.4000/poldev.5284

Green technologies designed to mitigate climate change through renewable energy and zero-emissions transportation currently depend on lithium-ion batteries, which require ‘critical materials’. Like nickel, graphite, manganese and cobalt, lithium is a key component of batteries that store energy for electric vehicles, smart devices and renewable power plants. Although lithium is present all over the globe, one of the main commercial lithium reserves is in the Puna de Atacama, a desert region at the borders of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. Resulting from a collaborative study for the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Plurinational Observatory of Andean Salt Flats, this chapter examines how the reliance on brine evaporation as an extraction method for lithium mining exacerbates conditions of ecological ‘exhaustion’ in the Puna de Atacama. The study is based on ethnographic and historical research primarily conducted in Chile with environmental activists, Indigenous leaders, scientists and policy practitioners. Furthering the concept of ‘alterlives’ to examine not only exposure to downstream chemicals but also the in situ alteration of life at mining sites upstream in the chemical supply chain, the chapter analyses environmental injustices inherent to green extractivism across multiple scales. It considers under what conditions Indigenous and local participation may contribute new models and standards for monitoring and offers policy recommendations to prevent further social harm and environmental damage.