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Article: Bolivia's shimmering gamble: will a Barren Desert be the cradle for the green economy?
- Article from:
- Earth Island Journal
- Article date:
- September 22, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Earth Island Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
On a recent sunny day, high up on Bolivia's Uyuni Salt Flat, six men in beige overalls huddle in a circle. Almost a year into the Andean country's highly valuable lithium extraction pilot project, workers for the state mining company COMIBOL have finally been given a drill to replace the pickaxes they had been using to cut brine sampling holes. But the new machinery (picture a circular saw on a long handle with a lawnmower pull-cord) doesn't want to start. After 15 minutes and lots of jockeying for tries, the engine turns over, and a three-by-five-foot section is cut into the two-foot thick layer of salt at our feet. As the workers shovel ...