Racing for Lithium in Bolivia: Growing Riches, Shrinking Water

Bolivia sits on a giant lithium reserve under the Uyuni salt flat—worth billions for the electric car industry. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the country holds over 20% of known global lithium.

The government wants to cash in, signing billion-dollar deals with Russian and Chinese companies to mine and export large quantities each year. Extracting lithium is water-intensive.

Experts from Bolivian research institutes report new lithium plants could use up to 47.5 million cubic meters of water a year, over 15 times what rains down locally. This threatens the water supply relied on by about 14,000 Quechua and Aymara people living nearby.

For these communities, water sustains both farming and livestock; most get their water from wells, rivers, and rain. Farmers say the local wells have already shown drops in both quantity and quality since lithium drilling began.

The Bolivian government says its new extraction technology will save water, but international studies and recent evidence argue it could do the opposite.

Lithium Mining in Bolivia Faces Legal and Environmental Challenges

Critically, these development plans went forward without prior talks with local villagers, despite national laws and global treaties requiring such consultation before major projects on Indigenous lands.

Protests and pressure from the region forced local courts to halt new extraction deals until proper environmental studies and real community talks take place.

Argentina and Chile have already seen similar projects hurt local water and wildlife. There, one ton of lithium mining usually uses nearly two million liters of water. Bolivia may earn big from the world’s hunger for electric cars, but the price could be steep.

If mining drains local water, the communities living on these lands will pay first and hardest. Profits depend on balancing business with the survival of the people and land that make lithium mining possible.

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