Atacama
The importance of Lithium
The world's largest lithium production comes from brines of the Salar de Atacama; these are also richer
than those of Uyuni in Bolivia. Although the Uyuni Salt flat is much bigger than the Atacama one.
In Chile, Lithium extraction corresponds fully to the State and it is protected by the mining legislation and
it is not a resource that can be subject to concession.
A fact that makes the whole area in one of the best sources of wealth in the future.
These three countries are investing heavily in
plants for its production; Chile is the one leading in
terms of mining operations and production. It is
followed by Argentina and Bolivia lagging far behind
because their leaders are very reluctant to foreign
capital investment.
In Bolivia is pretended not only the extraction if
not the production of lithium batteries, with its
own technology and export it to the world. They
do not want it happened as in the past with the
extraction of silver and tin that they exported to
all over the world and little profit left for Bolivia.