In the breathtaking landscapes of the Salar del Hombre Muerto, a quiet battle rages on—a battle for power and control over Catamarca’s valuable lithium reserves. As the world rushes towards a greener future, the extractive lithium industry intensifies. Yet, beneath the surface of the “green energy” narratives, intending to legitimize extractive operations in light of the climate crisis, lies a complex web of socio-cultural and environmental concerns. Research has consistently shown a clear link between the expansion of the lithium mining frontier and an intensification of conflict. While confl ..read more

Cover image by Felix Dorn The triangle metaphor Reference to the “lithium triangle” is commonplace when discussing lithium in South America. As in the case with “white gold” or the “Saudi Arabia of lithium”, the metaphor is both easily understood and powerful. However, it does not in fact represent what it refers to. The triangle describes a geography: a delimited territory that concentrates a set of lithium-rich salt flats that, with known technologies, present relatively favorable conditions for their economic exploitation. But the countries of the region have diverse strategic visions and o ..read more

Cover image: Salar de Olaroz Lithium Mine, Argentina by Planet Labs, Inc. Lithium has an increasingly leading role in renewed Latin American development discussions on how to govern the resource in the direction of technological learning, industrialization and mining activities run under sustainability principles. In the case of lithium, to move forward, we need to understand the complexity of global value chains (such as that of lithium-ion batteries), international trends such as near (or friend-) shoring and sustainability certification demands, the power relations between the actors that a ..read more

Cover foto: The Blue Marble, taken by the Apollo 17 crew in 1972. Released during a surge in environmental activism during the 1970s, it became a symbol of the environmental movement, as a depiction of Earth’s fragility, vulnerability, and isolation amid the vast expanse of space. (Source: Wikipedia) In light of the climate crisis the world urgently needs to shift from fossil fuels to renewable forms of energy. But the technologies necessary for this transition require large amounts of mineral resources, which come at the cost of environmental destruction in places of extraction. So, what do w ..read more

“Anyone who opposes lithium mining should stop using a cell phone.” Gerardo Morales, Governor of Jujuy Province In the 1990s, far-reaching changes to Argentina’s mining legislation enabled private companies to explore, develop, and exploit mineral resources. The 1994 constitutional reform also made mineral resources a federal issue. For the comparatively poor provinces of northwest Argentina – Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca – mining concessions offered an opportunity. They promised investments and royalties that could improve provincial budgets, create jobs, and strengthen political independence ..read more

In Argentina environmental information related to mining projects is supposed to be public and freely accessible. Two national laws establish this principle, one on free access to public environmental information and the other on the right of access to public information. They constitutionally oblige provincial authorities to guarantee this right to civil society. In Salta the Secretary of Mining is the agency in charge of sharing this information upon request. On March 16, 2020, I went to the Secretary of Mining front office to submit a request asking for access to the impact assessment of Sa ..read more

The birth of a literary project, and in this case of a translation, is far from being a light one. The project can slowly journey for years as an unconscious afterthought, or, as in the case of the forthcoming publication of a series of essays (Parikka 2021), it erupts suddenly, imposing itself in the immediacy of a moment, or a place. The Atacama desert is one of those rare places on earth where who we are and what we are up to, are radically transformed. I went to the North of Chile in October 2019, for a residency organised by La Wayaka Current, an artist-curator duo, who organise residenci ..read more

With several Gigafactories planned to be built over the coming decade, Norway is taking strides in the battery business. The country’s new ‘industrial adventure’ is promising a ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ form of economic value creation, bringing jobs and innovation. However, batteries depend on minerals, such as lithium, which are extracted abroad. Therefore, it is important to inquire on what material basis the emerging industry is built, and with what consequences beyond our borders. Norwegian battery visions In the past months, electric vehicle (EV) batteries have received enormous attention ..read more

The flock of black vultures circling slowly over the Sierra de la Mosca leaves an eerie impression. However, it makes the heart of nature lovers beat faster, because it is a sign of a steadily growing population of the endangered bird species. At the end of January, the Extremadura Zoological Society handed over its report on the latest bird sightings to the regional government. In addition to the black vultures, eagle owls, black storks and imperial eagles have also made their home in the green oasis outside the city of Cáceres in southwestern Spain. For zoologists, sufficient reasons to decl ..read more