{"id":51398,"date":"2019-12-01T20:06:38","date_gmt":"2019-12-01T19:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edu.danwatch.dk\/?post_type=undersgelse&p=51398"},"modified":"2019-12-01T14:18:09","modified_gmt":"2019-12-01T13:18:09","slug":"indigenous-peoples-face-charges-as-they-resist-future-lithium-projects-across-chile","status":"publish","type":"undersgelse","link":"https:\/\/edu.danwatch.dk\/en\/undersoegelse\/indigenous-peoples-face-charges-as-they-resist-future-lithium-projects-across-chile\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous peoples face charges as they resist future lithium projects across Chile"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A Danwatch investigation<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Indigenous peoples face charges as they resist future lithium projects across Chile<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Santiago demonstration in September demanding a stop to “the extraction that destroys our ecosystems”. Overexploitation of Chile’s natural resources and the marginalisation of the country’s indigenous peoples have been topics leading to confrontations both before and during the current nationwide protests.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The \u201cwhite gold rush\u201d reigns in Chile these days. With demand for batteries and EV cars increasing, the global lithium market is expected to increase to almost 10 times its current size by 2030<\/a>. \u00a0As Chile starts to lag behind its previous production forecasts, the country\u2019s Mining Minister has recently called for the exploration of lithium in \u201cmore than 50 salt flats\u201d across the country.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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About the investigation<\/h2>\n

Danwatch has been to Chile to investigate the country\u2019s growing lithium extraction industry. In the process, we have interviewed numerous scientists, companies, politicians and the people who live closest to the extraction sites.<\/p>\n

We have reviewed the mining companies\u2019 impact studies as well as the few independent research papers on the topic. We especially base our investigation on a 2019 study on lithium mining in Chile by researchers from Arizona State University\u2019s School of Sustainability.<\/p>\n

The investigation was supported by the EU-funded project Make ICT Fair and published in collaboration with Setem.<\/p>\n

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But the onward march of the mining companies and their new explorations is also triggering new conflicts with indigenous communities worried about their ecosystems, agriculture and ancestral territories.<\/p>\n

Take, for example, the Coipasa salt flat, near the Bolivian border. The Canadian company Lithium Chile Inc. has been buying property here to initiate a lithium-exploration program. But not long after the company announced its exploration plans, members of the nearby indigenous Aymara community of Ancovinto began protesting against the extraction plans and tried to prevent Lithium Chile from accessing the wetlands of their surrounding environment.<\/p>\n

After lithium extraction on the Atacama salt flat caused conflict over the few water resources<\/a> several hundred kilometers south of Ancovinto, community members from the already arid and high-altitude area now worry about the impact on their quinoa crops and llama livestock.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe Aymaras have subsisted for thousands of years in our lands, with our agriculture and livestock\u201d, an Ancovinto resident and member of the anti-lithium mining group Ancovinto Resiste, who wishes to remain anonymous, wrote to Danwatch.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Llama at one of the greener parts of the Atacama Salt Flat.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cWe defend our indigenous community, and we will continue to protect it from being sacked, exploited and contaminated by the extraction of lithium\u201d, the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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background<\/h1>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Is there any such thing as \u2018green mining\u2019? <\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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In 2019 the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was handed to John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for the development of the lithium-ion battery - amongst other things, because it enables electric vehicles and mega batteries <\/a>that can \u201cstore significant amounts of energy from solar and wind power, making possible a fossil fuel-free society.\u201d<\/p>

Such a transition to low-carbon technologies however fuels new demands for particular minerals used in for example solar panels, wind turbines and batteries.<\/p>

Many scientists say that more mineral extraction for renewables is without a doubt preferable<\/a> to a continued dependence on fossil fuels.<\/p>

Nevertheless, the costs of extracting new groups of minerals for renewables become more evident as global demands rise.<\/p>

Lithium is mined in various ways around the world, each with appertaining risks and drawbacks. Out of the top five lithium producing companies, all five have human rights allegations against them<\/a> according to the Business and Human Rights Resource Center.<\/p>

In Australia and North America, lithium is extracted from rock but requires the use of chemicals which have led to pollution of water resources<\/a> in the US. In Tibet, a Chinese lithium mine has caused environmental pollution resulting in fish dying in nearby rivers<\/a>.<\/p>

In Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, lithium is extracted from subterranean brine deposits. The main environmental problem in this regard is the massive use of water resources from arid areas.<\/p>

While scientists are optimistic about finding alternatives to other harmful components of lithium-ion batteries, such as cobalt, alternatives to lithium seem to have long prospects<\/a>. A lot of research is however currently done on the potential reuse of lithium-ion batteries. Only very few rechargeable batteries are being recycled today.<\/p>

Sources: Nobelprize.org, Business and Human Rights Resource Center, The Verge, Washington Post, Wired, Friends of the Earth, Danwatch<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Indigenous community is being sued<\/h4>

Lithium Chile has been buying an increasing number of lithium-exploration projects in Chile over the past few years, fast turning the Canadian mining company into one of the largest landholders of lithium-rich salt flats in Chile.<\/p>

In April 2019, the company announced that it had received approval from the local communities for an exploration program at its Coipasa salt flat property. According to a company press release, this established \u201cLithium Chile as a clear leader amongst Chilean lithium exploration companies in the ability to work constructively with local communities and successfully gaining their support.\u201d<\/p>

Only a few months later, however, it became evident that the Ancovinto community had not approved the company\u2019s exploration plans. When community members would not let the company enter their territory, Lithium Chile took the matter to the local mining court and sued the community in order to get a binding access order to the area.<\/p>

Structures from colonial times<\/h4>

Ancovinto Resiste claims that the community was never properly informed of the company\u2019s plans or of the potential consequences of mining, saying the company had been trying to exploit \u201cthe humility and lack of knowledge\u201d of the community.<\/p>

Lithium Chile tells Danwatch that the company does not wish to comment on the issue while the court case is ongoing. According to the company’s press releases, it expects to get the access order from the court soon.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Lithium extraction in the Atacama. Brine is pumped from the desert\u2019s underground and into massive evaporation ponds.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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But Ancovinto community members tell Danwatch that they will keep attempting to prevent the company from accessing their territory. Ancovinto Resiste claims the Chilean government will not stand up to defend the indigenous communities\u2019 environment, so the communities must do so themselves.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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It is colonial structures being repeated, when our flora and fauna is destroyed to meet the demands for electric cars in Germany, USA and Canada<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSpokesperson, Ancovinto Resiste<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u201cCompanies come here to satisfy a demand that comes from countries of the Global North. It is colonial structures being repeated, when our flora and fauna is destroyed to meet the demands for electric cars in Germany, USA and Canada\u201d, says the Ancovinto Resiste spokesperson who wishes to stay anonymous.<\/p>\n

A sacred matter<\/h4>\n

Several hundred kilometers south of the Coipasa salt flat, the Maricunga salt flat is also being explored for impending extraction. The area is less than five percent the size of the Atacama salt flat, where almost all of Chile\u2019s lithium extraction currently takes place, but after the Atacama, the Maricunga is believed to hold the country\u2019s largest lithium reserves.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Chilean water is privatised<\/h2>\n