Salinas Grandes

Salinas Grandes in North-West Argentina is a 212 square kilometre salt desert between the provinces of Jujuy and Salta at an altitude of 3,450 meters on sea level.

Here local communities rely on salt extraction-related activities and actively fight against the initiatives to start lithium extraction, which would bring serious contamination to the water and natural resources in the area and lead to a steep decline in groundwater levels, threatening local farming.

Salt is used for both human consumption as well as a construction material: salt blocks are used by locals to build houses and huts around the area of the salt flat.