There The Supreme Court of Justice examines whether mining operations for the extraction of lithium and borate in the areas of the saltworks of Salta and Jujuy affect the environment and water resources. before a claim of indigenous communities of the area to suspend mining, the court gave him a period of 30 days to the governments of the Nation and of these provinces receive copies of all exploration and extraction permits and complaints filed for environmental matters. Then he will decide.
The intervention of the Court, indicates the judgment signed by Horacio Rosatti, Juan Carlos Maqueda and Ricardo Lorenzettiis due to the fact that the National Constitution provides for the protection of the environment and is based on the principles “in dubio pro natura” and “in dubio pro agua”, which imply that environmental law prevails in the face of doubt such as whether violent or insulting activity
The Court said that the protection of the environment goes against the provinces, for the granting of permits, and against the Nation, for “the negligent conduct alleged in which it has engaged, through the Ministry of the Interior, Public Works and Housing – Secretariat for Equipment and Water Policy, which is responsible for the coordination and implementation of the National Water Plan throughout the national territory and which has not fulfilled the duties incumbent on it to guarantee the effectiveness and exercise of the rights of indigenous peoples”.
The case before the Court has a full impact on one of the main mining activities in the countryOr Canadian, Australian and Chilean companies working on lithium mining and extraction, which is used to make batteries for computers, mobile phones and electric vehicles. The companies carrying out this activity are associated with the manufacturers of these vehicles and these batteries.
Lithium extraction is one of the country’s main economic activities with development potential, as is oil exploitation in the Vaca Muerta basin in Neuquén. In Jujuy is the Salar d’Olaroz, which is operated by Orocobre Corporation in conjunction with Toyota Tsusho Corporation. There are also other important projects in the region, such as the Cauchari salt flatwhich is operated by the company Lithium Americas.
In Salta is the Salar del Hombre Muertowhich is operated by FMC Lithium, and there are also other projects in the area, such as the Rincon Salt Flatoperated by Livent Corporation.
According to the National Secretariat of Mines, in 2020 Lithium production in Argentina reached 45,491 tons of lithium carbonate, representing approximately $470 million. Today it is much more. Argentina is third in this world race. 40% of the world’s lithium is produced by Australia (from rock), 33% by Chile and followed by Argentina with 16%. He extracts it from the saltworks. World lithium production is 192,000 tonnes.
The case before the Court was initiated by the amparo action brought by the aboriginal communities of Santuario Tres Pozos, San Francisco de Alfarcito and the District of San Miguel de Colorados; among others. They asked to suspend all mining permits granted in the region, that new permits not be issued and that the two jurisdictions work together to analyze the environmental impact of exploitation.. They asked to form a committee of experts to study the biodiversity and socio-cultural aspects of the Salinas Grandes-Guayatayoc basin with an ecosystem approach to hydrology and establish a baseline for the basin, considering the impact on the environment, socially and culture that the extraction of lithium has in its different techniques and with intensity variables.
The communities, as well as the Fundación Ambiente y Recursos naturales (FARN), said that their rights to a healthy environment, to life, to water and to self-determination are affected.
The Court, before ruling on the merits of the case, gave the national state and the provinces 30 days to deliver to them a copy of all actions related to the exploration and exploitation of lithium and borate in Jujuy and Salta and related companies or consortia and the economic projections of the activity. Also that the provinces provide them with the same information and the complaints received against these authorizations and the ensuing environmental problems.
The Court said it was taking the case because it is cross-jurisdictional and it is about analyzing the situation in the Salinas Grandes basin, which has an area of 17,522 km2 and extends from the south of San Antonio de los Cobres, to Salta, to the north of Abra Pampa, to Jujuy, “which is why the two share the watershed of Salinas Grandes-Guayatayoc, an endorheic basin whose rivers and streams feed the high altitude wetland called Salinas Grandes and the Guayatayoc Lagoon, a flat saline basin in which “the golden target of the 21st century: lithium”.
The communities provided a study indicating that The exploitation of lithium in the Salar de Olaroz “reduces the soft aquifers” of the basinsince when salt water descends below the salar, fresh water enters and becomes salinized”.
In its considerations, the Court noted that it had in the past underlined “the importance of watersheds and the conflicts surrounding them which combine environmental, cultural and territorial aspects, as well as the constitutional relevance that the protection of the environment and federalism have in our country”. .
They stated that “the legal regulation of water has changed a lot in recent years” and that the model which only considers its private or public use has now moved to an “ecocentric or systemic” model, since “the current legal paradigm which orders the regulation of water does not only take into account private or state interests, but those of the system itself”.
And they stressed that judges must “consider the principle ‘in dubio pro natura’, which establishes that in case of doubt, all processes must be resolved in such a way as to favor the protection and conservation of the environment, privileging less harmful alternatives. “, preventing actions having “potential adverse effects disproportionate or excessive in relation to the benefits”. and highlighted the “in dubio pro water” principle, which states that in the event of “uncertainty”, disputes must be resolved in favor of water resources and ecosystems.
The Court stated that its duty is to control the activities of the other powers of the State and the adoption of measures aimed at guaranteeing the environmental rights provided for in the national Constitution to “protect the rights or compensate for the omissions insofar as the said rights can be injured.
“Entrepreneur. Amateur gamer. Zombie advocate. Infuriatingly humble communicator. Proud reader.”
