Key points
- Lithium mining dries wetlands, threatens wildlife and local livelihoods
- Chile’s Atacama holds world’s second-largest lithium reserves
- Mining uses vast water in already drought-prone region
- Locals sceptical about mining firms’ new water-saving tech
ISLAMABAD: As global demand for lithium surges to power electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, communities in Chile’s Atacama Desert say the extraction process is drying up their wetlands, killing native wildlife, and endangering their way of life.
⚡ With energy independence in focus, the Critical Raw Materials Act strengthens EU mineral supply chains.$LITH is positioning itself as a reliable supplier through its assets in the Lithium Triangle.
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🇨🇦 $LITH.V | 🇺🇸 $LTMCF#TSX #TSXV #OTCQB pic.twitter.com/tA90HaII6l
— Lithium Chile Inc. (@ChileLithium) July 18, 2025
Raquel Celina Rodriguez walks across the Vega de Tilopozo, once a lush grazing area, now cracked and dry. “Before, everything was green,” she says. “Now, it’s all dry.” Her family has raised sheep in the area for generations, but water shortages and shrinking vegetation have made it nearly impossible, according to the BBC.
Locals say the situation worsened with the arrival of lithium companies. Beneath the salt flats lie the world’s largest lithium reserves – a vital component in batteries. Global demand for lithium has more than doubled from 2021 to 2024 and is forecast to rise nearly fivefold by 2040.
Second-largest lithium producer
Chile, the world’s second-largest lithium producer, is ramping up production under its National Lithium Strategy. A new joint venture between state-owned Codelco and private firm SQM has been approved to extract 2.5 million metric tonnes of lithium metal equivalent annually until 2060.
But extraction involves pumping mineral-rich brine from beneath the salt flats, using vast amounts of water in an already drought-prone region. In the Los Flamencos National Reserve, biologist Faviola Gonzalez says shrinking lagoons are harming flamingo populations and damaging the entire ecosystem.
This is a lithium leach field located in northern Chile. 🇨🇱
These are used to extract lithium—one of the key components in EV batteries—from underground brine solution.
Lithium extraction is very harmful to the environment. It contaminates the air, pollutes our water tables and… pic.twitter.com/aiWgBURiMF
— Chris Martz (@ChrisMartzWX) June 4, 2025
A 2022 report found nearly a third of native carob trees on SQM’s land had died due to reduced groundwater. Communities say mining exacerbates existing drought caused by climate change. “Without water, without agriculture—what will people live on?” asks Sara Plaza, a resident.
Meaningful local involvement
SQM claims it is trialling new technology to reduce brine extraction by 50 per cent and reinject evaporated water. But locals remain sceptical, saying they feel like test subjects. Community leader Sergio Cubillos argues decisions are being made in the capital, far from affected areas, and calls for meaningful local involvement.
🗞️ Amid trade tensions and changing EV demand, Chile is among the countries pushing for increased lithium production to balance the market.
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— Lithium Chile Inc. (@ChileLithium) July 16, 2025
The Chilean government insists there has been consultation and that future production increases depend on environmentally safer technology. Yet residents say they are not against climate solutions—but question why their communities must bear the environmental cost.
“Our carbon footprint is small,” says Gonzalez. “But it’s our water that’s taken, and our sacred birds that are disappearing.”
