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213
https://web.archive.org/web/20220807194456/https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/02/01/south-america-s-lithium-fields-reveal-the-dark-side-of-our-electric-future

(post is archived)

[–] 2 pts

I wish the reporter had been curious enough to explain the purpose of the holding ponds; i.e. why lithium is processed in that fashion.

[–] 2 pts

Lithium is most easily extracted from salts, so they use the same methods for getting table salt. Put it in a saturated solution and let the sun do the work of evaporating (and precipitating the various salts out of) the water.

This article is a general explanation of what is going on:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22830430-300-lithium-dreams-the-surreal-landscapes-where-batteries-are-born/