To get there we had to go through a lot of little villages which each had their own vendors selling everything llama. There were venders selling sweaters that were made of llama fur, llamas and other figures made out of chunks of salt, llama keychains and all other things llama. We stayed there for about half an hour and took lots of pictures and then had some time to buy crafts. The light colors of the salt contrasts to the blue of the sky / water and the dark mountains in the background. It was a very beautiful sight to see and was one of the most beautiful places in Argentina that we have visited. There were also pools of water in the salt that are occasionally excavated to help separate the minerals from the salt. It is around 240 km 2 and was a lake thousands of years ago that has since dried up and is now about a ½ km thick chunk of salt. The Lithium Triangle is one of the driest regions on Earth, and the mining is reducing access to fresh water for Indigenous communities, as well as disrupting wildlife habitats – effects that are only exacerbated by climate change.On Saturday we went to Salinas Grandes, which is salt flat, located in the provinces of Salta and Jujuy. The varying hues of the ponds in this extraction field on the salt flats are caused by different concentrations of lithium carbonate, ranging from the dilute, turquoise, to the highly concentrated, yellow.Īlthough pretty from a distance, lithium mines are environmentally damaging and use a lot water and energy.

The rush for lithium is transforming landscapes across South America.

More than half of the world’s supply of this element is thought to reside in the “Lithium Triangle” where Chile, Argentina and Bolivia meet, with roughly a quarter contained in the Salar de Atacama salt flats in northern Chile. The ongoing demand for lithium is unprecedented. The element is a critical component in the lithium-ion batteries used to power electric cars, which are projected to account for up to 60 per cent of new car sales by 2030.

Salt flat argentina