Argentina's 'white gold': Will its lithium boom end badly? | People and Power

Argentina is home to huge reserves of lithium, a light metal used in electric batteries that is likely to be vital for reducing our reliance on planet-warming fossil fuels.

But those reserves lie beneath the vast Andean salt plains - a unique ecosystem stretching between Argentina, Bolivia and Chile that Indigenous communities are desperate to protect from a mining boom.

They say lithium production sucks up scarce groundwater and would be environmentally catastrophic for this stunning but arid region.

So, is it possible to extract the metal - and fight climate change - without causing significant ecological damage? People and Power investigates.

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