“A global boom in demand for lithium has set off a scramble in Chile, which is home to nearly 50 percent of the world’s reserves of the metal. Local indigenous groups, SQM and Albemarle, regional copper miners and newcomers to the region are all competing for water. ‘What we have is a water war in the salt pan. There’s a huge crush on water and nowhere to get it from,’ said Alonso Barros, an attorney with the Atacama Desert Foundation, an NGO that works with indigenous groups in the region.”
Source: In Chilean desert, global thirst for lithium is fueling a ‘water war’ | Reuters
