The 21st-Century Gold Rush

Will there be a new cold war over lithium?

By FP Contributors

An aerial view of a lithium mine that shws tripes of white and gold, and a crane in one of the stripes.

April 16, 2023, 10:00 AM

“A new gold rush is underway in Latin America—only this time around, the bounty is white,” FP’s Christina Lu and Rocio Fabbro reported in February. “With its sprawling salt flats, the region is rich with a new ore—lithium—and everyone from Germany to China is clambering to get in on the race.”

Lithium is essential to the batteries that power the energy transition—and as countries scramble to meet their renewable energy goals, Latin America has become a geopolitical hot spot due to its reserves. The reporting and essays below analyze the tactics states are using to secure the region’s lithium, the challenges to its extraction, and what it will take to prevent a new cold war over this essential resource.—Chloe Hadavas

An aerial view of brine ponds and processing areas of a Chilean lithium mine

An aerial view of brine ponds and processing areas of a Chilean lithium mine is seen in the Atacama Desert, Chile, on Sept. 12, 2022.MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images

China’s Latin American Gold Rush Is All About Clean Energy

Beijing’s not after gold—but lithium, FP’s Christina Lu and Rocio Fabbro report.

Rectangular yellow, green, and blue pools are shown from an aerial view in the desert.

Pools of brine containing lithium carbonate and mounds of salt byproduct stretch through a lithium mine in the Atacama Desert in Salar de Atacama, Chile, on Aug. 24, 2022.John Moore/Getty Images

Can South American Lithium Power Biden’s Battery Plans?

Washington needs lithium—but its history of intervention in the region complicates things, Kathryn Ledebur and Erika Weinthal write.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits Volkswagen’s Pacheco vehicle plant in General Pacheco, Argentina, on Jan. 29.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits Volkswagen’s Pacheco vehicle plant in General Pacheco, Argentina, on Jan. 29.Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images

Germany’s Scholz Calls for a New Approach to the Lithium Rush

On a visit to South America, the chancellor pitched partnership rather than exploitation, FP’s Catherine Osborn writes.

Two people stand on a sandy expanse, with blue water in the background.

People stand on a large mound of salt byproduct from lithium production at a mine in the Atacama Desert in Salar de Atacama, Chile, on Aug 24. The U.S.-based lithium producer Albemarle is expanding mining operations there to meet the rising global demand for lithium carbonate.John Moore/Getty Images

Can South America Take Advantage of the Lithium Boom?

Ramping up production may be harder than it sounds in the “lithium triangle,” Thomas Graham writes.

A man in a hard hat watches a conveyor belt loaded with bright blue chunks of raw cobalt.

A man watches a conveyor belt loaded with chunks of raw cobalt at a plant in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Feb. 16, 2018.SAMIR TOUNSI/AFP via Getty Images

How to Avoid a New Cold War Over Critical Minerals

To prevent a return to the zero-sum logic of Cold War resource politics, critical mineral supply chains must be widened at every step, Cullen Hendrix writes.