IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jrpoli/v81y2023ics0301420722007310.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Lithium mining, water resources, and socio-economic issues in northern Argentina: We are not all in the same boat

Author

Listed:
  • Díaz Paz, Walter Fernando
  • Escosteguy, Melisa
  • Seghezzo, Lucas
  • Hufty, Marc
  • Kruse, Eduardo
  • Iribarnegaray, Martín Alejandro

Abstract

Lithium mining in Argentina is often associated to social injustices, unequal access to information, and conflicts around issues such as water consumption. Different stakeholders hold different perceptions around the pros and cons of lithium mining. We identify here concerns regarding water resources, technical aspects of lithium mining, and social and economic aspects in four different sources of information: (1) Scientific articles; (2) Government reports; (3) Corporate reports; and (4) Newspaper articles. We found differences between the groups of documents analyzed. Scientific and newspaper articles share a wide spectrum of issues. Corporate and government reports are more focused and relate more heavily to social and economic aspects. Socio-technical issues, frequent in government reports and the media, do not seem relevant in corporate reports. Concerns about water resources and lithium mining are most prominent in scientific and newspaper articles. Government reports were the least concerned about water and the socio-environmental impacts of lithium mining, but focused on global markets, employment and technical development. Analyzing stakeholders’ concerns in the Argentine Puna region can help reveal power structures, connections, and discourses across different sectors and scales.

Suggested Citation

  • Díaz Paz, Walter Fernando & Escosteguy, Melisa & Seghezzo, Lucas & Hufty, Marc & Kruse, Eduardo & Iribarnegaray, Martín Alejandro, 2023. "Lithium mining, water resources, and socio-economic issues in northern Argentina: We are not all in the same boat," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:81:y:2023:i:c:s0301420722007310
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.103288
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420722007310
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.103288?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. QUIJANO, Gabriela, 2020. "Lithium Might Hold the Key to our Clean Energy Future, but Will this Star Metal Fully Deliver on its Green Potential?," Business and Human Rights Journal, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(2), pages 276-281, July.
    2. John D. Graham & John A. Rupp & Eva Brungard, 2021. "Lithium in the Green Energy Transition: The Quest for Both Sustainability and Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-23, October.
    3. López Steinmetz, Romina Lucrecia & Fong, Shao Bing, 2019. "Water legislation in the context of lithium mining in Argentina," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    4. Obaya, Martín & López, Andrés & Pascuini, Paulo, 2021. "Curb your enthusiasm. Challenges to the development of lithium-based linkages in Argentina," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Jorratt, Michel, 2022. "Renta económica, régimen tributario y transparencia fiscal de la minería del litio en la Argentina, Bolivia (Estado Plurinacional de) y Chile," Documentos de Proyectos 47807, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fuentealba, Diego & Flores-Fernández, Cherie & Troncoso, Elizabeth & Estay, Humberto, 2023. "Technological tendencies for lithium production from salt lake brines: Progress and research gaps to move towards more sustainable processes," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fuentealba, Diego & Flores-Fernández, Cherie & Troncoso, Elizabeth & Estay, Humberto, 2023. "Technological tendencies for lithium production from salt lake brines: Progress and research gaps to move towards more sustainable processes," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    2. Xiong, Su & Luo, Rong, 2023. "Investigating the relationship between digital trade, natural resources, energy transition, and green productivity: Moderating role of R&D investment," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    3. Costin Radu Boldea & Bogdan Ion Boldea & Tiberiu Iancu, 2023. "The Pandemic Waves’ Impact on the Crude Oil Price and the Rise of Consumer Price Index: Case Study for Six European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-15, April.
    4. Xingxing Wang & Yujie Zhang & Hongjun Ni & Shuaishuai Lv & Fubao Zhang & Yu Zhu & Yinnan Yuan & Yelin Deng, 2022. "Influence of Different Ambient Temperatures on the Discharge Performance of Square Ternary Lithium-Ion Batteries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-22, July.
    5. Elsayed Mousa & Xianfeng Hu & Ludvig Ånnhagen & Guozhu Ye & Antonella Cornelio & Ario Fahimi & Elza Bontempi & Patrizia Frontera & Charlotte Badenhorst & Ana Cláudia Santos & Karen Moreira & Alexandra, 2022. "Characterization and Thermal Treatment of the Black Mass from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-21, December.
    6. Sinclair, Lian & Coe, Neil M., 2024. "Critical mineral strategies in Australia: Industrial upgrading without environmental or social upgrading," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    7. Laene Oliveira Soares & Augusto da Cunha Reis & Pedro Senna Vieira & Luis Hernández-Callejo & Ronney Arismel Mancebo Boloy, 2023. "Electric Vehicle Supply Chain Management: A Bibliometric and Systematic Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-26, February.
    8. Jiehui Yuan & Zhihong Liu & Ting Zhou & Xiaoming Tang & Juan Yuan & Wenli Yuan, 2023. "Sustainable Development of Lithium-Based New Energy in China from an Industry Chain Perspective: Risk Analysis and Policy Implications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-16, May.
    9. Ona Egbue & Suzanna Long & Seong Dae Kim, 2022. "Resource Availability and Implications for the Development of Plug-In Electric Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-17, January.
    10. Nebojša Stefanović & Nataša Danilović Hristić & Jasna Petrić, 2023. "Spatial Planning, Environmental Activism, and Politics—Case Study of the Jadar Project for Lithium Exploitation in Serbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-18, January.
    11. Ozturk, Ilhan & Razzaq, Asif & Sharif, Arshian & Yu, Zhengsen, 2023. "Investigating the impact of environmental governance, green innovation, and renewable energy on trade-adjusted material footprint in G20 countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PA).
    12. Cheng, Dong & Zhou, Hongqin & Guo, Debing & He, Yingchao, 2024. "Green Knot: trade openness and digital commerce contribute to the natural resources," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    13. Sun, Yanlei & Wang, Siyao & Xing, Zhanlei, 2023. "Do international trade diversification, intellectual capital, and renewable energy transition ensure effective natural resources management in BRICST region," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    14. David R. Mares, 2022. "Understanding Cartel Viability: Implications for a Latin American Lithium Suppliers Agreement," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-26, July.
    15. Nunez-Picado, Adriana & Martinus, Kirsten & Sigler, Thomas, 2022. "Junior Miner internationalisation in the globalising mining industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:81:y:2023:i:c:s0301420722007310. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30467 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.