Argentine lithium a boon for some, doom for others

Susques, with a population of fewer than 4,000 people, is one of the closest settlements to the Olaroz salt flat, which hosts two of Argentina's four lithium production plants. — AFP

Anahi Jorge, 23, works for a lithium extraction company in Argentina, earning four times the salary of a local government worker in her village of Susques.

And while she welcomes the income of about US$1,700 per month – a fortune for most in economic-crisis-riddled Argentina – she laments the impact on critical water resources in her town and the wider Jujuy province.