Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
International Business Times
International Business Times
Science
Paulina ABRAMOVICH

MYSTERIOUS: Chile s lithium dreams raise water concerns in the desert - What They Never Told You

In the salt flats of Aguilar and La Isla -- at an altitude of 3,400 meters and 4,400 meters respectively -- the temperature is minus zero and the wind biting (Credit: AFP)

As night falls in Chile's Atacama desert, the world's driest, a drilling machine extracts brine to measure levels of lithium -- a crucial mineral for the global switch to cleaner energy, but harmful in its own way.

Chile is seeking to retake its position as the world's top lithium producer, but environmentalists fear extraction in the Atacama desert will harm fragile ecosystems there.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.