"This method of the Chilean state dealing with native communities never changes," Espindola said. "The Chilean government starts selling this lithium without asking us native people, the people who live here, the homeowners, the Lickan Antay people," Espindola said, calling the move "irresponsible" and a continuation of previous policy. One of them, the Tara salt flat, is in a biodiverse area covered in ancient arrowheads, ceramics and other archeological remains and forms part of Los Flamencos National Reserve.Ĭristian Espindola, who oversees patrols and security on the Tara flat for the local Toconao community, said he did not see much difference between the current and previous governments, criticizing the Boric administration for announcing its plan before consulting with locals. Their communities sprouted up along turquoise oases brimming with lithium below. The Atacama's rocky, hostile terrain that NASA uses to simulate Mars has been inhabited by the Lickan Antay people for at least 1,500 years. "What bothers me is that a product is being sold as a sustainable solution for the world when it's not," Mondaca said. The new plan seeks to employ direct lithium extraction (DLE) - a technology that promises to be more sustainable by reinjecting the brine back into the ground once the mineral is extracted.īut DLE is as yet commercially unproven and locals are unconvinced. Lithium is extracted through massive brine evaporation ponds that locals and environmentalists say alter the water table and hurt flamingo populations and other wildlife.
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