AJ
PEOPLE AND POWER -
ARGENTINA :
THE WHITE GOLD
Link: https://vimeo.com/799879786
Pass: alj
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SÉQUENCES / Synthés |
COM
+ SONORES |
SOURCES |
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TEASER LIVE Shu Bo
laughing in front of the pool Shu Bo - Human resources manager Liex-Zijin SIGN Patricia Marconi - Biologist IN ARCHIVES PROTEST Patricia Reynoso
- Anti-mines activist “Antofagasta resiste” |
Argentina is the new el Dorado of the mining
industry. “Hahahah” “With the lithium we’re
creating batteries, a new energy respectful of the environment.” The country holds
21% of the world’s reserves of lithium: an element primarily used to create
electric car batteries. “Don’t touch Los Patos
river. Water for the people, not
for the mines.” But this new gold rush could affect the water resources of the country. “In a short time the human populations that live here for 10 000
years, will become climate immigrants, because of a mining industry that is
supposed to save us.” Indigenous
communities are battling against the development of 30 new mines on their
lands. “No to lithium, yes to
water and life!” “People who pretend to buy
cars with green energy, they need to know that to build them, they’re
removing our water. They are taking away our life.” People and Power meets the activists and mining
companies fighting for the white gold in the Andes Cordillera. |
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TITLE |
ARGENTINA : THE WHITE GOLD Manon Heurtel - Mathilde Guillaume - Julien
Dufau |
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CHINESE MINE SIGN Shu Bo - Human resources manager Liex-Zijin Shu Bo - Human resources manager Liex-Zijin Shu Bo - Human resources manager Liex-Zijin Majian Ling
- General Engineering Assistant Manager LIVE Shu Bo
laughing in front of the pool Shu Bo - Human resources manager Liex-Zijin |
00:00:02 This tranquille, almost lunar landscape lies 4 500
meters above sea level in the Andes Cordillera. Pristine salt flats, volcanos and blue lagoons make
up a unique ecosystem that’s lain largely undisturbed for millenia 00:00:27 But now that serenity is being shattered – as men
and their machines search for white gold: lithium. “We take care of the
environment as much as life” 00:00:41 “It’s a beautiful
landscape… I can’t
express how wonderful it is! Not
every Chinese person has the opportunity to arrive
in a place so beautiful.” 00:00:54 The Chinese corporation Zijin has invested 380 millions dollars to construct this lithium plant. The company normally specializes in gold and copper
mining. But lithium is becoming more valuable each day: its
price is 10 times higher than it was in 2020. It's now worth 85,000 dollars per ton. 00:01:15 “I feel very proud. Before we
arrived last winter, there was nothing: no factories - empty! Only mountains
full of snow with no life at all. Now we have a campment of 800 to 1,000
workers. It took us only 8 months to do, and we’re very proud of it.” 00:01:43 It’s the only lithium company in the area that’s
been willing to open
its doors for our cameras. We are escorted around by 7 people from its
communication department. They want to show us how they intend to extract
lithium without damaging the environment. . “Right now, we’re in a phase of
exploration. Our machines will reach a depth of 450 meters. When we reach
this point, if everything goes well -
it’s gonna become a new well of production. We will use a hose to extract the
brine and bring it to the evaporation ponds.” 00:02:15 The white gold that interests the miners are seeking
isn’t this white salt, but the lithium that lies within it, in the brine. Extracting 1 ton of lithium involves evaporating 2
million liters of water. But the company insists that the process only uses
underground brine, in order to
respect the water cycle. 00:02:34 We can guarantee that there is a
balance : there’s more water seeping back in, than
the amount we’re extracting through the brine. This is an area with a lot of
snow. This snow provides water to the 3 rivers passing here and then it
infiltrates the groundwater. We constantly measure the flow of the river and
do calculations for the recovery of the level of water downstream. 2 900 cubic meters are recovered
each hour and we are extracting less than a thousand cubic meters per hour. “Hahahaha” 00:03:20 The brine is poured into evaporation
ponds. The site can hold up to 6 millions cubic
squares of water. Zijin corporation expects to produce 50
000 tons of lithium in 3 years. 00:03:35 “Those
evaporation ponds are so huge that the water needs a lot of time to
evaporate. The water is passing through several ponds until this one. Here we
have the water with the highest concentration of salt. It’s something magical : we’re using the sun to evaporate the water and
from the concentrated brine, we can take out the lithium. With the lithium
we’re creating batteries, a new energy that is respectful of the
environment.” |
https://www.mining-technology.com/news/zijin-lithium-argentina/ https://copperbeltkatangamining.com/battery-grade-lithium-trades-at-nearly-usd-85000-per-ton/ https://www.zijinmining.com/global/program-detail-71747.htm https://www.zijinmining.com/news/news-detail-119238.htm |
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LABORATORY ANIMATION |
00:04:12 It’s a miraculous process; but only up to a point. After one year of evaporation, the lithium is sent
to a laboratory where it’s mixed with several chemical products such as sodium
bicarbonate and sodium hydroxide. In total, 8 steps are required to obtain the final product 00:04:30 One kilo of lithium carbonate can produce 500
smartphone batteries and 8000 common ones. A basic electric car would require much more: almost
8 kilograms. |
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/electric-vehicles-world-enough-lithium-resources/ |
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MAP |
00:04:44 Scientists call lithium the oil of the 21th century because it may help end our reliance on
fossil fuels. 65% of the world’s reserves are located between
Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. The region is known as the lithium triangle. In Argentina, 30 new mining projects are prospecting
for lithium. By 2030, the country could become the second largest
producer of the metal in the world. |
https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/informe_litio_-_octubre_2021.pdf |
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SALT COLLECTOR Nicolas
Alancay - Salt Collector Nicolas
Alancay - Salt Collector IN ARCHIVES PROTEST 2019 Nicolas Alancay - Salt Collector |
00:05:15 900 kilometers north from the Chinese plant, lie the
saltworks of “Salinas Grandes”, where the indigenous population has been harvesting
salt for more than 4,000 years. 00:05:30 “Right now I’m removing
the lumps of salt from the pool, I will clean it and take it out to let it
dry. Here it’s really a source
of energy. The saltworks
are full of energy, far
away from the village. When you come here, sometimes even if you have
problems at home, but once you’re here you feel the energy and it helps you
to live and to keep fighting.” The saltworks here have also been targeted by the
lithium industry. In 2019, the local community heard that prospecting
was about to start on their land. 00:05:56 “The inhabitants living
there warned us that a company was in the saltworks. They
were settling up machines to perforate the soil and
create wells.” “No to lithium, yes to
water and life!” 00:06:29 “We stayed 3 days until
they sent the police because we were blocking the road over there. But we’ve
been very clear that we will stay until they take out their machines. And
finally the company left and took out all its equipment. They were taking out the
blood. I mean for us the water is the blood of the earth. So we didn’t let
this happen.” The community won, on that occasion. But since then, people have worried that the
machines will return. |
Facebook videos
Salinas Grandes de Guayatoc / Authorization
Veronica Chavez https://www.facebook.com/salinasgrandes.lagunadeguayatayoc/videos |
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MEETING INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY IN LIVE
Musique Veronica
Chavez - Cacique of the community “Los Tres Pozos” LIVE Question inhabitant LIVE Question Veronica LIVE Lawyer 1 LIVE Lawyer
2 |
00:07:20 In this arid region, which receives less than 400
millimeters of precipitation each year, water is a crucial but scarce resource. Today for the first time, representatives of 33
indigenous communities of Salinas Grandes are coming together to defend
their territory. 00:07:49 “Welcome, everyone. Thank
you for taking the time to participate in this meeting.” Lawyers have come from the capital Buenos Aires to
provide legal advice. In 2011, they managed to halt lithium prospecting in
the area. Argentina’s supreme court recognized the right of
the indigenous communities to be consulted before any mining took place. But this year, the rush for new gold seems more
powerful. 00:08:18 “They’re telling us,
communities : you want to protect the resources so you don’t care about
global warming? But in the meanwhile they’re removing our rights. “I have an idea : we should declare to the UN the saltworks as an
entity with rights. What would be the requirements for this process?” 00:08:52 “It’s a great idea ! In this assembly, we can
publish a statement from the communities saying that the saltworks and the
laguna is an entity with rights. So let’s do this publication. It can have an
impact on a political aspect. It’s very interesting.” 00:09:11 “The inter-american court
says that there exists a property collective right for the communities who
have an ancestrale activity, in relation with their cultural identity. This
has a property relationship different from the individual property.” In the past, lithium mining led to soil contamination and water loss in other regions of Argentina and in
Chile. |
Legal text Kachi Yupi that
recognized indigenous community as owner of their ancestral lands : https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Kachi-Yupi-Huellas.pdf |
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MINE MINISTRY Jorge Gonzales - National Director of Mining Economy Jorge Gonzales - National Director of Promotion and
Mining Economy |
00:09:36 “I
trust in the capacity of the scientists in this country. I am confident that
while the lithium industry will grow, we will observe all the problems and
will fix them. Every economic activity has an impact. But it’s not
irreversible. And if it can be solved, then it’s perfect.” 00:09:55 Argentina is in the midst of an economic crisis. The country must repay a colossal debt of 45 billion
dollars back to the IMF. The government believes the lithium industry could
help by generating exports worth as much as 3.5 billion dollars by 2030 00:10:14 “Lithium will allow the
development of rural territories that are especially far from the main
cities. It represents an economic activity in places where there was none, or
only survival activities such as lama farming. And at the national level,
Argentina needs to have fresh dollars to promote other types of policies in
other sectors.” |
https://www.reuters.com/business/argentinas-senate-gives-thumbs-up-45-bln-imf-debt-deal-2022-03-18/ |
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RIO EL TRAPICHE Elizabeth Del Vallo - Anti-mines activist “Antofagasta resiste” LIVE Elizabeth Del Vallo - Anti-mines activist “Antofagasta resiste” Elizabeth Del Vallo - Anti-mines activist “Antofagasta resiste” Patricia
Reynoso - Anti-mines activist “Antofagasta resiste” LIVE Inhabitants suite LIVE Journalist + Inhabitants LIVE Elizabeth Del
Vallo - Anti-mines activist “Antofagasta resiste” + Dario |
00:10:48 This is “El Hombre
Muerto” saltworks, where an American company – the Livent Corporation –
operates Argentina’s oldest lithium mine. Elizabeth and Patricia
have been protesting against it for 25 years “This sign says
“Protection of the fauna and the flora” but you can see on the other side of
the road they’re doing an extraction well. They’re still pretending to
protect the earth and nature, for the mining industry there is nothing
inconsistent.” 00:11:40 This used to be the
Trapiche River.
The province of Catamarca recognized the involvement
of Livent Corporation in the drying up of the river for 11 kilometers. But the company was never condemned by the
Argentinian justice to pay damages. “What a disaster!" In 1997, the company
built this dam upstream, in order to redirect the river’s water to their
plant. The freshwater was used
to clean the brine during the lithium separation process 00:12:14 “Here it was all green,
everywhere. You can still see some grass over there, well before everywhere
it was like that. All the animals were coming here to drink from the river. Today they’re trying to
reforest the area through an “eco-conscientious” NGO which is working for the
mine. A year ago, they brought plants from somewhere else to install them
here. Their idea is to recreate the flora as it was before.” 00:12:56 Today, only a handful of people still live in the area. -
How
old are you grandma? -
Guess! The two activists have
come to visit Emilia and her son Dario. Since the river dried
up, they can’t farm animals like they used to. The household now has no
choice but to depend on the mine, which provides their
food, water and electricity. Given the circumstances,
it isn’t easy for them to speak freely. 00:13:24 “How is your relationship
with the mine? -
Good. - Yes it’s ok… but now we have
a river without water. “Is the mine providing you
water for your daily alimentation, at least? - Yes they give us drinkable
water. - Oh
ok so they’re doing better than before. - And
for personal hygiene too.” |
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LAWYER INDIGENOUS
COMMUNITY Verónica Gostissa - Lawyer of the indigenous
community of Catamarca Verónica Gostissa - Lawyer of the indigenous
community |
00:13:50 Today another mining project is worrying local communities. They fear a major tributary – the Los Patos - could meet the same fate as the
Trapiche River. Mining industries want to draw its water through an aqueduct. But this time, it isn’t just one, but eight mines that would extract
the water. 00:14:11 “What is certain is that there
is only one water source, one basin. It’s the same as if from one mate we
would put 8 straws and everyone would drink from there. The political power
instead of studying, controlling, and using environmental data, is approving
all the projects without measuring the cumulative damage impact.” 00:14:34 For two years, activists have fought hard to stop the project,
maintaining that the local community was never consulted. 00:14:43 “This administrative
presentation, we had to send it 3 times, that’s the reason why there are 3
stamps. After the first presentation we didn’t get any answer. Then they told
us that they lost it, so we had to send it a second time. And then again we had to send it a third time. They were always
declining their responsibilities. They’re denying justice access
to the indigenous community. |
Livent aqueduct project that
doesn’t show cumulative damage impact with the 7 others mines
: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1742924/000119312518258208/d603292ds1.htm https://miningpress.com/nota/328455/litio-argentino-comunidades-denuncian-a-livent-en-la-cidh |
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RIO LOS PATOS SIGN Patricia Reynoso - Anti-mines activist
“Antofagasta resiste” LIVE Elizabeth
Del Vallo - Anti-mines
activist “Antofagasta
resiste” Patricia
Reynoso - Militante “Antofagasta resiste” Patricia
Reynoso - Anti-mines activist
“Antofagasta resiste” |
“Don’t touch Los Patos
river. Water for the people, not for
the mines.” 00:15:18 Despite their
legal efforts, during the pandemic, when protests
were forbidden, a 30 kilometer long underground
aqueduct was built. “This is one of the tubes
sucking water from Los Patos river. It’s coming through an underground
aqueduct, coming out from here. It’s getting stored in this tank and then
it’s going to the mine company.” 00:15:48 This system can extract 650,000 liters of water per hour. For the activists, it poses an ominous threat to the “Los Patos”
river, and its wildlife. “We’re hitting the ground to
see if some trout is coming out, there’s plenty here.” “Those are the natural
plants that the fishes are eating.” 00:16:20 A class-action
lawsuit is currently being considered by
the Federal courts in Catamarca province. “Unfortunately
we don’t have so much hope. But we’re waiting for hope in the future. We’re
hoping that the multinationals take awareness of the damages of lithium
extraction, of this energy that they sell as a green energy to the rest of
the world. Not to us. Here we don’t have this green energy. Here
is our green energy : sun and water. People who pretend to buy
cars with green energy, they need to know that to build them, they’re
removing our water. They are taking away our
life.” |
https://www.ejatlas.org/print/salar-del-hombre-muerto-litio-argentina |
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GOVERNOR CATAMARCA Raúl Alejandro Jalil - Governor of Catamarca Raúl Alejandro Jalil - Governor of Catamarca |
00:17:04 “About environmental control, we
have an environmental police who’s checking the
projects and also monitoring them through the Environment Ministry to verify
how the aquifer is doing. Thanks to this, regarding the control we did until
now there isn’t any impact. Except for the Trapiche river but in this case we
asked for the reforestation of it. So the environmental control is very
strict from the province.” 00:17:40 Opponents to
lithium mining also say its economic benefits for Argentina are exaggerated In neighbouring
Chile, taxes on lithium exports can reach 40%. In Argentina,
royalties are only 3,5%. But the Governor disagrees 00:17:58 “We passed 3 laws about
the mines. First 3,5% of royalties which is 3 times more than before.
Secondly, we asked them to employ 70% of employees from Catamarca. And
thirdly, we want all the construction work to be done by companies from
Catamarca. |
https://www.bnamericas.com/es/noticias/lo-que-pagarian-las-mineras-en-chile-con-la-ley-de-regalias Catamarca mining development
statistics / Credits Governor's house : |
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MAYOR FIAMBALA Roxana
Paulon - Mayor of Fiambala Roxana
Paulon - Mayor of Fiambala Roxana
Paulon - Mayor of Fiambala |
00:18:29 With a population of 12,000 inhabitants, Fiambala is
the closest city to the lithium plant run by the Zijin corporation. Here, the economic benefits are already noticeable,
says its mayor Roxana Paulon. 00:18:50 “The
mine supports us a lot in order that its production allows a great leap
forward to improve the quality of life of the people. We also have many
public work sites that wouldn’t be possible without the growth outlook that
we have thanks to the mine. We have for example a new hospital that we will
inaugurate in 2 months.” 00:19:17 The mine will employ 1,000 local workers until construction is complete and is providing muich needed help to the area. Catamarca is one of Argentina's poorest regions; 40% of its people
live below the poverty line. “The
arrival of the mine had a lot of good consequences :
it put people back at work in Fiambala. Especially the young people, it gave
them a work culture. Before we had a high level of unemployment and now I think that in 2 or 3 months we will have full
employment.” 00:20:00 It’s the village’s
annual celebration today; an opportunity for the mayor to promote the
development of the region. 2023 is an important election year in Argentina 00:20:14 “We
can all attest that Fiambala is growing every day! I’m very proud that today
there aren't any young
people leaving our village to look for better opportunities. Thank you
very much.” But if many in Fiambala
are ready to embrace the mining industry, independent scientists
aren’t as optimistic about the future. |
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BIOLOGIST LIVE
Patricia Marconi -
Biologist LIVE Homme
- Biologist + Patricia Marconi
- Biologist LIVE
Patricia Marconi -
Biologist LIVE
Patricia Marconi -
Biologist Patricia Marconi - Biologist Patricia Marconi - Biologist |
00:20:56 This is “Laguna Grande”,
a wetland site protected by UNESCO. Each summer, 12,000
flamingos migrate here to give birth. “I
think this laguna is a good spot for them. There is a good balance between
altitude and distance.” Patricia Marconi is a
biologist. She’s been observing flamingos for 20 years. To her, they embody why
the salt plains should be conserved. 00:21:25 “Have
you seen chicks so far?” “Yes!
Some are gray and others are white” “Oh
yes I see them!” “We’re
counting different situations : adults that are in
nests hatching the eggs, adults that are next to the nest but not inside.
This is the first terrestrial count.” “Ok : in total there are 2 000 flamingos hatching Ricardo.” 00:22:02 In 2022, Dr Marconi published a study showing that wetlands are under pressure from mining operations. “The consequences on the
water will not be detected immediately, because on those highlands 98% of the
water is underground. It’s water that was trapped at different depths, and
during different geological periods wetter than now. Today they are
extracting this water but it will not be replaced,
because it’s not part of the water cycle. When we’re done consuming it, it
will run out. It’s a non-renewable resource.” 00:22:46 So is the price of
lithium extraction worth paying ? Scientists estimate that
the totality of the lithium resources on the planet will allow the renewal
of only 10% of the automobile fleet. “These highlands are gonna run out of water, without wetlands,
biological diversity, and obviously without flamingos. It makes us very
concerned because it also signifies that in a short time the human
populations that live here for 10 000 years, will become climate immigrants,
because of a mining industry that is supposed to save us.” |
https://www.levinsources.com/assets/pages/Lithium-Mining-High-Puna-Andes-Famingo.pdf https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jlLgO5sNVrJnr2Y8SJ2iK1N3Jlo26wB3/view?usp=sharing |
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00:23:40 In truth, the threat now facing this unique environment is testimony
to the bitter reality of climate change that the world’s need for green energy may also help cause
the loss of some of its most special places. |
https://www.globalpolicywatch.com/2022/09/elemental-risk-the-threat-to-electric-vehicles/ |