Lithium Mining
Definition
Historical
Non-extractive origin ? <find examples of indigenous practice> "Discovered" when ? Catalog of industrial uses ? Electric Vehicle
Technical
Component of lithium-ion battery.
Ongoing Sites
Afghanistan
Australia
Bolivia
Kongo
United States
"Lithium Americas Signs Community Benefits Agreement with Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe" https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/10/20/2538842/0/en/Lithium-Americas-Signs-Community-Benefits-Agreement-with-Fort-McDermitt-Paiute-and-Shoshone-Tribe.html
In the U.S., most critical mineral sites containing cobalt, copper, lithium and nickel are within 35 miles of Native American reservations, according to a study by Morgan Stanley Capital International, which examined over 5,000 mining properties. The Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe's land is less than 25 miles as the crow flies from Thacker Pass. <https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/the-cost-of-green-energy-the-nation-s-biggest-lithium-mine-may-be-going-up-on-a-site-sacred-to-native-americans/index.html>
"...expected to use billions of gallons of precious ground water, potentially contaminating some of it for 300 years, while leaving behind a giant mound of waste." <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/business/lithium-mining-race.html>
The mine would require 3,224 gallons of water per minute after its fifth year of operation and destroy nearly 5,000 acres of winter range for pronghorn antelope. <https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/18/green-agenda-batteries-527263>