"The thing that is not in dispute is that ponds evaporate water...

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sqe

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30/12/23

20:15

Post #: 71670851
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Originally posted by sowens: ↑

There's plenty of discussion about is brine water. Jcove did a panel discussion on it several years ago. It's importance lies in the Chilean constitution which defines brine as a mineral resource. The definition distinction relates to which level of government in Chile presides over it. The thing that is not in dispute is that ponds evaporate water to the tune of 1000+ cubic meters for every 1 tonne of LCE. At current extraction levels the amounts evaporated are causing the local aquifers distress. Bolivia Chile and Argentina all plan to increase production multiple times. Bolivia has taken the step of banning all ponds. Chile has taken the step of banning all new ponds. Argentina has not addressed this issue yet but we have recently seen indigenous protests in Jujuy partly about water and we have seen the Lieutenant Governor of Catamarca declare that where mining compromises water then mining must not proceed. How many red flags do you need? As to your question do farmers and townsfolk use brine, well lesson one of water politics is all aquifers interface. If you draw water from one aquifer it will affect another. Tell an indigenous person in Jujuy who is facing rubber bullets that aquifer depletion should not really concern them.

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"The thing that is not in dispute is that ponds evaporate water to the tune of 1000+ cubic meters for every 1 tonne of LCE"

"Brine water is water the same as sea water is water. Of course water of different salinities will have different usages"

So on one hand you say that the pond guys are using all this water, then on the other hand you say brine water is the same as sea water. In which case, it doesn't matter that the pond guys evaporate. You can't have both sides of a coin in a coin toss. Make a call and stick to it.

FYI, Kachi is using approx 18.8m3/tonne AFTER the first few years. The first 2 years they use 4x this amount. So circa 75m3/tonne.

Compare this to the fresh water the pond guys use

Last edited by sqe: 30/12/23

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