Half of the world’s lithium reserves are stored in the world’s largest salt desert in Bolivia
It became known that half of the world’s lithium reserves are stored in the largest salt desert in the world, Bolivia. More than 11 million tons of this valuable element, which is used in the production of storage batteries, is believed to lie beneath the unusual surface. It is reported Live Science.
The largest salt desert in the world, or the largest salt pan on Earth, is the Salar de Uyuni. Solonchak is located on the territory of Bolivia (South America) at an altitude of 3,660 meters and covers an area of approximately 10,400 square kilometers. This salt desert is known for its sparkling surface waters and hexagonal salt crusts. Half of the world’s lithium reserves are believed to be hidden beneath this unusual surface. This valuable element is especially in demand now due to the huge spread of rechargeable batteries, for the production of which it is used, writes Live Science.
The Salar de Uyuni is located on the Altiplano plateau in the Andes. Millions of years ago, the climate in this region was drier and hotter, explains Sarah McKnight from the University of Dayton in Ohio, USA. Over time, extreme heat caused the ancient lake to evaporate, leaving crusts of sedimentary rock and salt behind. Tectonic processes and volcanic activity then raised these crusts to a high plateau, where they are still today.
The salt crust in the Salar de Uyuni is between 3 and 10 meters thick. This crust is covered by a layer of extremely salty water or brine. But water is also on the surface of the crust in some places due to upwelling of fresh water, McKnight explains. There are mountains and volcanoes around the salt pan, from which melt water falls on this part of the landscape. Fresh water penetrates under the crust, but is immediately separated from the brine due to the difference in salinity. Because fresh water is less dense than brine, it actually floats on the surface of salt water.
As a result of a process called freshwater upwelling, freshwater creates lakes on the salt flats. The size of the lakes varies depending on the season and periods of drought. The reason that the Salar de Uyuni salt flats contain huge reserves of lithium is because of the fresh water that flows from the surrounding mountains. Due to hydrothermal and volcanic activity in the Andes, the mountains contain many minerals filled with lithium, which the water picks up and carries down into the salt flats.
Salar de Uyuni is located in a region called the Lithium Triangle, including parts of countries such as Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. It is believed that 75% of the world’s lithium reserves are located in this region. As for the Salar de Uyuni salt flat, scientists believe that there are approximately 11.2 million tons of lithium hidden there. Some scientists believe that this is 38% of the world’s reserves of the precious element, while others believe that 50% is stored there.
Although lithium is already being mined in the region, it is not on a very large scale, as there is no technology yet to extract it in a cost-effective way, says McKnight.
