A groundbreaking study led by hydrologists at UMass Amherst has uncovered a critical miscalculation in the amount of freshwater available for lithium mining in South America’s “Lithium Triangle.” Published in Communications Earth and Environment, the research warns that current models overestimate water availability by more than tenfold, posing urgent challenges for sustainable mining practices amid the global push for green energy.
The study, spearheaded by Professor David Boutt and lead author Alexander Kirshen, examined 28 basins across the Lithium Triangle—spanning Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia—which supplies over half of the world’s lithium. Lithium, essential for batteries in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, is extracted from brine beneath freshwater lagoons. These lagoons support fragile ecosystems and indigenous communities, making water conservation vital.
Traditional global water models estimated freshwater inflow at 90–230 mm annually, but the team’s Lithium Closed Basin Water Availability (LiCBWA) model revealed a stark reality: Inflows averaged just 11 mm per year, with 27 of 28 basins classified as “critically water scarce.” The discrepancy highlights the inadequacy of existing tools for arid regions like the Andes, where monitoring is sparse.
Compounding the issue, newer direct lithium extraction (DLE) methods, adopted by 56% of Triangle sites, often consume significantly more water than older evaporative techniques—some using ten times as much.
“There’s not much new freshwater at all coming into these systems,” emphasized Boutt. Kirshen added, “The conventional wisdom is overestimating water by at least an order of magnitude.”
With lithium demand projected to surge 40-fold, the study calls for immediate collaboration among scientists, miners, and local stakeholders to curb water use and improve monitoring. Balancing green energy goals with environmental and social sustainability in the Lithium Triangle will require urgent action and innovative solutions.
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