Preliminary field research on the social, political, and environmental dynamics around copper and lithium extraction in Chile and Argentina

My Tinker-funded research focuses on the social, political, and environmental dynamics around copper and lithium value chains in Chile and Argentina. This summer’s fieldwork was my initial scoping fieldwork for the project. While in Chile and Argentina, I conducted 26 interviews with actors representing major mining companies, junior exploration companies, national and regional governments in Chile and Argentina, and local communities in mining regions. Since returning to California, I have conducted an additional 10 remote interviews that resulted from my fieldwork. In Chile, I also had the opportunity to visit one of the world’s largest lithium extraction projects and the world’s largest lithium processing plant. I visited a pilot plant developing a direct lithium extraction technology, as well. My major takeaways related to the relationships among mining companies at different stages and from different regions; the role of diverse sectors in the lithium industry; the differences between the Chilean and Argentinean governments’ approaches to the lithium industry; and the social and environmental impacts of lithium exploration, extraction, and processing. These findings will inform my further fieldwork, which will focus specifically on lithium in northwest Argentina.