In Bolivia's heartland, protests rattle lithium development push

FILE PHOTO: A sign made with salt blocks with the logo of state-owned Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB), also known as Bolivian Lithium Deposits, is seen at the plant of Llipi in Uyuni, Bolivia, October 7, 2018. Picture taken October 7, 2018. REUTERS/David Mercado

LA PAZ (Reuters) - Protesters in Bolivia's lithium-rich region of Potosi are blockading a key processing plant, demanding legislation that guarantees better benefits for local communities and larger royalties from extraction of the electric battery metal.

The protests are focused on a plant in Llipi, near the Uyuni salt flats, which hold one of the world's largest troves of the metal whose price has surged so much during the global shift towards electric vehicles that it is now called "white gold".