The ruling partially gave rise to a precautionary measure in August 2021 presented by the chief of an indigenous community in the area, who denounced, among other things, a negative water balance in the salt flat due to the mining extraction of "huge quantities of water." sweet and salty system" and irreversible environmental damage as the Trapiche River dries up.

The United States-based mining company Arcadium Lithium said this Friday that a court ruling by the Argentine province of Catamarca that ordered to stop the granting of mining permits due to environmental issues does not affect its existing operations or expansion activities at its Fénix and Salt of Life.

"All existing permits and the company's environmental impact reports remain valid," the global firm, which also operates in Australia, Canada, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, added in a statement.

The Court of Justice of Catamarca ordered in a ruling released on Thursday not to grant new permits and environmental reports until the provincial government carries out a new study that takes into consideration the cumulative impact of all lithium projects in the Los Patos River area. Salar del Hombre Muerto, in Antofagasta.

The ruling partially gave rise to a precautionary measure in August 2021 presented by the chief of an indigenous community in the area, who denounced, among other things, a negative water balance in the salt flat due to the mining extraction of "huge amounts of water." sweet and salty system" and irreversible environmental damage as the Trapiche River dries up.

The Government of Catamarca, a province located 1,100 kilometers northwest of Buenos Aires, was evaluating the steps to follow, a provincial source reported.

Argentina, the fourth world producer of the so-called white gold that makes up the lithium triangle along with Bolivia and Chile, has been attracting investments from foreign firms interested in exploiting the key metal for electric cars.