Why is the Salar de Uyuni important to the economics of Bolivia by Alexander Lee https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47 Created with the help of the internet :) en-us 2019-04-17 18:53:01 UTC 2019-05-07 19:05:51 UTC hello@padlet.com https://imgglb.padletcdn.com/v13/image?t=g_auto&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpadlet.net%2Ficons%2Fpng%2F1f4b0.png The hidden treasure in Salar De uyuni. 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/352409276

The meandering, bumpy dirt roads, the thin air at high altitude, the ordeal of bringing labor into the blinding white plain of the world’s largest salt flat—all of this stands between anyone who dreams of retrieving Bolivia’s lithium riches and turning it into electric-car batteries. 
Lithium Prices

Lithium prices reached historic levels earlier this year, with lithium carbonate from South America selling at an average of $15,700 per ton in May and June before prices fell to around $14,375 per ton in October, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Berry expects lithium prices to plateau at around $12,000 per ton, at which nearly a third of the projects currently in the pipeline would fall off the cost curve. Bolivia’s big gamble would be marginal at best.]]> 2019-04-17 19:14:26 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/352409276 Formation of the Salar De Uyuni 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/352653368 Containing an estimated 10 billion tones of salt, the question often a rises as to how salar de uyuni was formed. Essentially, the Altiplano (high plateau) here had no drainage outlets, which meant that water from the surrounding mountains once collected to form a giant lake. High salinity meant that whilst this vast, prehistoric lake has long since evaporated under the fierce Andean sun, a thick crust of salt remains, forming what we now recognize as the salt flats of salar de uyuni. Another explanation is Aymaran legend provides an alternate explanation, involving the mountains were once giant people, and Tunuea and Kushu were married. When Kushu betrayed his wife for Kusina, Tunueas tears are said to have formed the salt flats.]]> 2019-04-18 19:13:13 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/352653368 How Salar De Uyuni attract tourism 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/352966687 Salar de Uyuni is the largest and majestic highest desert in the world that is perpetually salt. In addition to the salt it contains, it represents the largest lithium reserve on the planet. Located at an elevation of about 3650 meters above sea level, this salt has an unimaginable mineral and natural wealth. Of the wonders and natural graces that can be found in the Salar de Uyuni, there are numerous lagoons covered with extraordinary beauties that you can see in the tour salar de uyuni. In reality, this salt has become one of the most important destinations of the Republic of Bolivia. Therefore, knowing it can be a great and great experience for tourists who visit it.

With an approximate of 70 thousand tourists that visit, this annual salt is one of the favorite places for those who visit Bolivia. This has huge cacti, as well as the proximity to hotels built with blocks of salt, forming different islands characterized by their attractive and charming air, which conquers and enamours the different globetrotters and walkers who come to this enigmatic and moving place.]]> 2019-04-22 01:40:41 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/352966687 Making Bank in Salar De Uyuni 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/352969500 But the Uyuni’s most valuable property isn’t its topography, its ecological rarity, or the tourism revenue it generates. It’s the precious metal that lies just below the surface, a blue-green brine filled with lithium that was deposited by ancient volcanic activity. Lithium is the world’s lightest metal, used in batteries that power everything from smartphones to electric cars, and the Salar de Uyuni holds around 5.4 million tons of the world’s total 11 million.

When Bolivian President Evo Morales took office, he promised to nationalize some of the country’s natural resources and use them to invigorate the local economy. The country opened a $19 million lithium-production plant in 2013, and Morales has told reporters that at least 60 percent of profits from lithium mining must stay in the country. But the high cost of mining and the lack of infrastructure  forced Morales to court foreign investors.


 
]]> 2019-04-22 02:07:42 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/352969500 The Ultimatum 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/352971262 Engineering firms in Germany and Switzerland placed bids to build lithium plants near the Salar de Uyuni after the Bolivian government announced it would accept engineering plans for the exploitation of its lithium fields. The mining process involves pumping brine to the surface, allowing the water to dry in evaporation pools, then harvesting the minerals that remain—mainly salt and lithium. For years the indigenous Aymara people have harvested common table salt from the Uyuni, wearing wooden masks or sheets to protect their eyes from the gleaming sun. Lithium mining on a large scale, however, could destroy the Salar’s ecosystem.


The ensuing dilemma is one that’s haunted resource-rich countries for decades. Reap the rewards of mineral wealth and use these monetary gains to better the lives of impoverished people, but potentially destroy the natural ecosystem in the process. It’s the quandary faced by Ecuador, who asked the world to pay them to leave oil in the ground since drilling would destroy one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. And like Ecuador, Bolivia seems to feel that the harder-to-quantify environmental value of the salt flats is worth less than the enormous monetary wealth mining will bring.

]]> 2019-04-22 02:24:46 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/352971262 Fun facts of salar de Uyuni 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/352971379

1. Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat, located in Bolivia.

2. It is in the Daniel Campos Province in Potosí in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes and is at an elevation of 3,656 meters (11,995 ft) above sea level.

3. Salar de Uyuni spreads over 10,582 square kilometers (4,085 square miles), which is roughly 100 times the size of the Bonneville Salt Flats in the United States.

4. Salar De Uyuni, turns into a mirror during the rainy season.

5. The geological history of the Salar is associated with a sequential transformation between several vast lakes. Some 30,000 to 42,000 years ago, the area was part of a giant prehistoric lake, Lake Minchin. When the lake dried up, it left a couple of seasonal puddles and several salt pans, including Salar de Uyuni.]]> 2019-04-22 02:25:44 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/352971379 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/353505081 2019-04-23 18:49:18 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/353505081 Dangers of exploiting Lithium reserves. 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/353509222

Exploiting Salar de Uyuni’s lithium could come at a cost. One concern is wildlife: the region is a breeding ground for rare flamingos. Another is the health of local people. A study by Karin Broberg of Lund University, Sweden, in four mountain villages in the Argentinian Andes has found that women there ingest so much lithium from groundwater that they suffer similar symptoms to those seen with hypothyroidism: weight gain, fatigue, depression and memory loss. The condition may also be experienced by people being treated with lithium for bipolar disorder. “Now we really would like to study the problem of lithium exposure in drinking water in Bolivia,” Broberg says.]]> 2019-04-23 19:00:01 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/353509222 One of the most beautiful places on earth 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/353512636

At 4,086 square miles, Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia holds the record for the largest salt flats in the world. In fact, so flat are the flats that the U.S. Geological Survey found that elevation variations across the entire area were less than one meter. It is the flattest place on the planet, and it is so stunningly featureless that you can see the curvature of the Earth there. Needless to say, this provides an opportunity to create what might be considered the planet's largest mirror, a place for the sky and earth to collide in dizzying illusions. (We wonder if the moon catches glimpses of her own reflection there.)]]> 2019-04-23 19:09:29 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/353512636 Intro to Salar De Uyuni 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/353516848

An evocative and eerie sight, the world’s largest salt flat measures 12,106 sq km and sits at 3653m (11,984ft). When the surface is dry, the salar is a pure white expanse of the greatest nothing imaginable – just blue sky, white ground and you. When there’s a little water, the surface perfectly reflects the clouds and the blue altiplano sky, and the horizon disappears. If you’re driving across the surface at such times, the effect is surreal; it’s hard to believe that you’re not flying through the clouds.]]> 2019-04-23 19:20:24 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/353516848 Salt Operations 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/353517455

Salar de Uyuni is now a center of salt extraction and processing, particularly around the settlement of Colchani. The estimated annual output of the Colchani operation is nearly 20,000 tons, 18,000 tons of which is for human consumption while the rest is for livestock. And beneath the surface, massive lithium deposits should fuel Bolivia’s economy for the next 100 years.]]> 2019-04-23 19:22:07 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/353517455 Why Bolivia is a poor South America country 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/354244774 Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Poverty, which restricts the exercise of human rights, affects population groups in different ways, according to gender and ethnic origin. Poverty and inequity also give citizenship a limited and precarious status.
Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Poverty affects the quality of life of the majority of the population, and restricts the right to enjoy and exercise the human rights of those affected.
All human beings have the right to aspire to satisfy their basic requirements. To be poor not only signifies incapacity to cover basic necessities, but also exclusion from the opportunity of developing one's capacities to fulfill a productive and creative role in society, as well as having limited possibilities to make one's own claims heard.
Numbers speak out
According to the 2002 Poverty Map with information from the Census of 2001, 59 per cent of the population of over 8,274,325 inhabitants live in conditions of poverty and 24,4 per cent live in conditions of extreme poverty. However, many specialists maintain that these figures should be much higher as income and work are not considered when making this calculation.
On the other hand, according to the latest Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (PNUD 2002), Bolivia ranks as the 104th of a total of 174 countries in human development. The country has a fifth position amongst the lowest ranking countries in the region. The Human Development Index is composed of three variables: life expectancy at birth, educational achivement and the real Gross National Product per capita (expressed in Parity of Acquisitive Capacity).
Short term perspectives are not very favourable. From 1998 to 2002 the per capita GNP fell from USD 1,071 to USD 883 (INE, 2002). With almost no productive investment, diminishing internal demand, lack of confidence, uncertainty, increasing lack of prestige of the political parties and lack of credibility of the political system, conditions do not exist for economic reactivation in the short term.

]]> 2019-04-25 18:53:06 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/354244774 The Economic struggles 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/354577725 Half the world’s lithium reserves are located in a south American country, and they’re not utilizing it to the best opportunities. “Salar De Uyuni in Bolivia is the worlds largest salt flat at 10,582 [km.sup.2], and home to half the worlds lithium resgood economy”. Even with Salar De Uyuni having opportunities to have a successful economy, its GDP per capita is still at an all-time low. This meaning Salar De uyuni is a treacherous place to venture to. Also meaning that Bolivia’s government does not care as much about how the economy is doing, as it shows they have not improvised a plan to create a better infrastructure to travel to the lithium mines and back.  Salar De Uyuni offers many great untapped potential for making money, but Bolivia is still one of the worse economy’s in South America. What makes Salar De Uyuni such a treacherous path to travel along is because it contains a bus commute that can last days on a bumpy dirt road, this being a path not many are willing to take.

]]> 2019-04-26 19:00:46 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/354577725 Still continuing paragraph. 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/354586002 In 2006 Bolivia elects a president that is taking steps into a brighter future, his name being Morales. President Morales is taking steps int a better future, Bolivia might enter a knew era, the era of lithium. “The country opened a 19-million-dollar lithium production plant in 2013, and Morales has told reporters that at least 60 percent of profits of lithium mining must be stay in the country”. President Morales is seizing the opportunities at hand to make money for a poor Latin America Country. This leads to the process of how to actually extract lithium from mining efferently, also how to convince people to take the long journey to get to the lithium production plant.

]]> 2019-04-26 19:28:46 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/354586002 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/355183293 Bolivia has a part of there economy made of salt, and the massive amounts of salt being extracted. The main consumers of salt product is Human consumption, while the rest is for livestock. Bolivia is taking steps to utilize the salt flats it has. “The estimated annual out put of Colchani operation is nearly 20,000 tons 18,000 tons of slat, which is for human consumptions while the rest is for livestock., Bolivia is usingsalt to make money not just lithium. Not all focused on lithium.

]]> 2019-04-29 19:23:05 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/355183293 Attractions #1 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/355950446 Valle de la luna
price of entry 3000 pesos.
Duration of time spent-6 hours max.
Food-N/A its a park national reserve 
what will you see- moon like landscape of dunes
What will you do- look around take pictures,hike.
Why should you go, bubbling geysers, mountain lagoons. varied landscape to come across.]]> 2019-05-01 19:17:39 UTC https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/355950446 Lodging 100020978 https://padlet.com/100020978/35z7v1ji6i47/wish/355953246 Hotel name-Bolivian rooms & suites
Price per night- 44$
Stars-4.5
Rating-(excellent)
What is notable about this hotel- its near Valle de luna, muela del diablo, the witches market in La Paz.
Amenities-Complimentary breakfast, laundry service, restarant, good for kids.

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