G7/8 Cycle A - 1: Geology: Lithium

Lithium is the 33rd most abundant element, however, it does not naturally occur in its pure form due to its high reactivity. Lithium metal, due to its alkaline properties, is corrosive and reacts with water. Breathing lithium dust or alkaline lithium compounds irritates respiratory tracts. Prolonged exposure to lithium can cause fluid to build-up in the lungs, leading to pulmonary edema. The metal itself is a handling hazard because of the caustic hydroxide produced when it is in contact with water causing an explosion.

In May 2016, hundreds of protestors threw dead fish onto the streets of Tagong, a town on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau. They had plucked them from the waters of the Liqi river, where a toxic chemical leak from the Ganzizhou Rongda Lithium mine had wreaked havoc with the local ecosystem.

While the indigenous Aymara population harvests and sells salt crusted on the surface of the Salar de Uyuni salt flat, the much more lucrative lithium is dissolved in brine found deep underground.

The surface of the Salar de Atacama in Chile is incredibly dry. Most living creatures stay away from the salar, which is a dry flat area.
Underneath it, though, is a treasure trove of lithium.

The deposit could power 400,000 clean-energy car batteries. There’s just one roadblock: a rare, fragile species of buckwheat, which for a mine might mean extinction.