strings where organized crime rules, where conglomerates make their own laws? we shed light on the opaque worlds. who's behind them? hoop benefits, and why are they a threat to us all? opaque world starts june, 2nd on d, w. d. o . there's a new gold rush in the andes mountains. mining companies are trying to tap into huge reserves of lithium, known as white gold, bainbridge. and that they single mean argentina wants to attract $5000000000.00 and investment, not only for lithium mining,

but also for electro mobility programs. i said, i'm really elected germany is moving ahead with this technology as well. and will need a lot of lithium to power. those electric cars that have had 1000 people here. but the pursuit of white gold can also have serious political consequences. buick, on a lithium brought down bolivian government and told eligible again. but can the lithium be extracted without damaging the local environment? some experts are skeptical and question the need for large scale mining projects. when f a media does a family in europe really need to e car is in a 3 computer us. how will the mining of lithium affect the local residence and what impact will it have on the region sensitive ecosystem? we double with doctor warbler. it's not about

a share of the profits keys. look a little more, it's about our future. and the future of our children in this i use in this is the large salon day with nissan, flat, near the crest of the andes. in southwestern bolivia beneath it's crossed my the world single largest deposit of lithium punky. no one is the mayor of the nearby community of rio grande. why le supports lithium mining? because he believes that it will generate profits for everyone. mrs. thomas, case, all of the communities near the salt plaza and all of bolivia will benefit from the

extraction of lithium here. get the liberal examiner should been if you ship about 2000 people live in rio grande. the local economy is doing well thanks to income from the extraction of sodium, borat, or borax. while us hopes that if lithium mining operations expand as planned, there will be even more money for the local residence. there are huge deposits under the crust of the soul plus a pilot plan for extracting the white gold has already been built. bolivian government wants to benefit from the increased demand for lithium. as more and more western countries develop electric vehicles. bolivian officials want to do more than simply export lithium. they also plan to develop processing plants and battery production facilities which will create lots

of new jobs. by the philadelphia, centuries ago, bolivian silver was simply sent to europe. now we want to use this natural resource to improve our lives as the visa in 2018 able morales olivia's president at the time agreed to a joint venture with the german company, a c. i. systems are manya, a c, i a s promise to help a bolivian state company extract the lithium. it would also build a processing plant and a factory for making lithium batteries. it seems to be a win win situation for both sides. a c, i a s predicted a bright future development towers and director, and we will create a 1000 jobs directly and 10000 indirect jobs. so that's before including those of the battery production for so, so in, but even the german auto industry will need huge supplies of lithium as it makes

the transition to battery powered vehicles. so will car makers in other western countries and that's good news for bolivia, argentina, and she lake, which have huge reserves of white gold. it may or while us support the agreement in principle, but only if it benefits the local residence. this is, it's almost getting us broken, norma, there was a, well, the people are entitled to a share of the profits embassy in because lithium extraction will have a huge impact on the people up. rio grande day gifts look, go many others. you run the allusion to the clinton, why it was for fewer. but there is more at stake here than just financial compensation. local leaders also demand that they have a say in the development of these projects. but because it was, as it seemed,

our logistics cooperative can help in the extraction of lithium what and what a 1st day. and we have the equipment that will be needed for this project. transport including trucks, 4th bentham equity got us. e, i'll give them a key not. but in 2019, president morales put the joint venture on hold. in the wake of public protests in rio grande dozens of trucks were purchased in anticipation of coming industrialization loss. almost as garcia, we used these trucks to dig the basis where ra lithium will be stored or better for me. but right now they're just standing around my production book, decrement that there's hardly any opposition here to the joint venture. most local residents think the germans are the right partners for the project, including local politician tay adora ali. the opposition comes from other parts of bolivia where a lot of people think it's a bad idea. look at connect it over as well. as a reminder,

the germans can still save the project as well. but a lot of people were upset about the terms of the agreement mcmahon, i'm reminded of it, is that i think the germans should take part in them in the deltona, but in other places, some citizens committees are a postal and they've got people riled up disparate that are lacking in 2019, there were widespread demonstrations against the proposed joint venture. oh. and in october, people took to the streets to protest alleged fraud in the recent general election . during this chaos, morales cancelled the agreement with germany. since then, lithium mining in bolivia has been suspended. even those who live near the salt

flats now have their doubts about the joint venture agreement. one of them is luis ma chaka, a member of a citizens committee, as well as it broke down at the germans, wanting to extract our lithium with a 70 year contract. and now i'm not sure they wanted to be a good partner. what didn't have the financial resources and, or the technology ample, got they hello. here in bolivia, lithium mining has become a serious political issue. it's still not clear whether a foreign company will be brought in to get the extraction project moving again. in any case, lithium lining consumes huge amounts of water layer. while us is worried that the local wells may dry up visible skeleton that we need to find alternative ways to provide water for lithium production. so if they just tap into

our reservoir, him and that will ruin our children's future home from it than that for doodle that mercy the mayor says that environmental concerns like this are important as bolivia decides which foreign company will take part in the project. that will uni salt flats, holds the world's largest reserve of lithium, which will be used in the batteries of the new generation of electric vehicles. large deposits of lithium are also found in the neighboring countries of t lake and argentina. this is the so called lithium triangle, which is home to nearly 60 percent of the world's supply of white gold. much of the world's lithium is found in brine reservoirs that my just below the surface of the desert areas of the andes region.

these include chillies at a comma desert. this area is considered the world's driest with an average annual rainfall of just 15 millimeters. the salt flats are all that's left of sailing lakes that developed millions of years ago. surface water is scarce here, and it is vital for the survival of wildlife like these flamingoes. with that she lay in company s q m, has been mining lithium for 25 years at a facility on the auto. com assault flat s q. m. is the world's number 2 producer oblivion workers pump brine to the surface from a depth of 40 meters. the bry is been placed in basins where the liquid evaporates over several months, leaving behind lithium slag. this process uses

a lot of water pipelines run across the desert floor to supply the mining facility with the water comes from wells that tap into the ground water. but a local resident, christiane to rocco is opposed to mining operations here because they're depleting the reservoirs. honda, if thou one the latter than they see says that this mining operation has been set up on land that belongs to the indigenous peoples. focus. not to widia, she gunther, the damage ok. and the company is using up our underground water supply a whole 5th. and 2nd, though, are low enough to rocco says that some rivers in this region are running low, others have dried off altogether. he blames this situation on climate change and on water intensive mining operations

to wilco and lives in the village of took a now located on the edge of the salt flat, about 700 people live here. christiane works as a surveyor and also farms. a small plot of land like his father and grandfather did . christian's father says that large scale, lithium mining is mostly responsible for the drop in the local water supply. and what's it like it does if whether good at law we're a lot of people have moved away because there's not enough water with w o, o, one of the, you know, if you don't have water, you can't grow crops. you said so a lot of people of laughing livable. ah, this situation has been confirmed by christina dora door, a biologist who has studied the environmental impact of mining operations at best element there. so he mahunis of dallas,

the lower satellite images taken over the last 20 years, indicate that the soil has lost moisture, nickel, and so the ground temperature is rising and there's been a decrease in the amount of vegetation. these changes are the direct result of the expansion of lithium mining, annex young the somewhat, i believe, you know, with this is a serious threat to the areas fragile ecosystem. it affects the micro organisms in the lagoons and the flamingos that consume them. look, i get the color in the low salary. this is an example of what we call a local climate change it if it wasn't as more water and brian is pumped out of the ground, the water level in the lagoons drops. yes, i wait a minute. this raises the water temperature, which leads to evaporation. yes. awesome. so the bottom line is that it accelerates the loss of water from the salt relax video. i believe we weren't allowed to film

at the eskew him mine because of coven restrictions. but company vice president pablo alta myra's says that the company has reduced water consumption in recent years and will continue to do so. in a sort of didn't want to seek dimmer. we monitor water extraction at more than $250.00 locations. humble me in the near. we also monitor the water level of the laguna laguna and we make all of the state of public. yes. if one was it was a bully. but christie and her uncle has doubts about the company's operations. if it were me, if we're lucky you, there were the others in the ending so far. and when i asked q, m has not bothered to take the concerns of the local residents and seriously the 5th. and we're upset about that. that won't be a geeky, they take the lithium out of the ground and then sell it. and europe as a clean the product that we did earlier and openness hit them. but as far as i'm concerned in italy, that's a lie less your in the there when m e or is

a mate theda the boom in lithium production will likely create even more water shortages. and that's a serious cause for concern laughter. so now i know callahan, people who live near the salt lake, have filed several lawsuit against the mining companies, claiming that they use more water than was allowed to take them. and she leaves the only country in the world where the water supply is owned by private companies. if things continue like this, the salt lake will dry up in 10 to 20 years past the hour the on, even in the select macalucio, s q m says it does use environmentally friendly technology. also the name of ticket to see if we proceed a legal to say i am, our company needs to expand to produce more lithia and mother. but that production has to be sustainable that i need to, that the concept of electron mobility is based on sustainability boulevard. noble

of it, so we are committed to using production methods that are sustainable. vanessa when i say that i could, if i want to assume a few kilometers away across the border in argentina, an increase in lithium mining could also create water shortages. ah, for years the local indigenous people have made their living by mining song. ah, ah, most of those who make their living from tourism and mining salt, believe that lithium production poses a real threat. dia felt like if i don't want them to start an elite to it'll scare away all of the tours in northern it to the one of the leaders of the local anti lithium protest is clemente flores,

like many people in chile, he's concerned that the water supply may be running low. lemme, and most of the day for me me and the key is how much water the companies will use me. they say one thing on their website, but that's usually less than the amount that they actually use. in this lithium plant is owned by an australian japanese company. nearly 40 similar projects are in the planning stages. argentine as governments, as it will expand lithium production in the coming years. there will probably not be any controls. just like in chile lucas ease or the man the others in the us. we filed complaints and have held demonstrations to try to slow the expansion puts in for something that i mean that the government has already issued permits for several projects. but no one is giving us any specific

style because i thought going into national agreement state that we have to be consulted in advance. that unless i was with the for years, the indigenous people of who, who a province have been trying to stop the government from issuing lithium production licenses to foreign corporations. but the authorities are planning projects with companies from japan, china and canada. supporters say environmental damage will be kept to a minimum a then him was in england down. is it bullion? numerous scientific studies have shown that lithium mining does not threaten the water supplies of small farmers with us in the salt lake has its own water system in the when we pump brian there. it does not affect the fresh water reservoirs of the farming communities and eloquently about us. one idea argentina's government hopes that lithium production will help boost the countries ailing economy.

battery production facilities are already on the drawing board and argentina plans to build more electric vehicles for the domestic market basic plan market. we're convinced that expanding lithium production will help us to successfully deal with the challenges of the future i or in china and europe. 20 percent of all vehicles are electric. meanwhile, argentina is way behind not an exit. the v. m. w is already a player in argentina's lithium market. the company predicts that 50 percent of all the cars it builds in 2030 will be electric. so they'll need a lot of lithium and have invested millions in argentina. b m w says it will make sure that the lithium is mind responsibly. by decent for farmed out and kind of loosen smithfield i'm facing. the process that we use does not introduce any

solvents or chemicals into the environment. we're the ones that indian most of the brian that we extract is returned to its sourcing us enough to the also fossil. this reduces water consumption substantially compared to other muscles. item items up since, as he pre production is planned to start in 2022, but local residents and many scientists doubt whether lithium can be mined in such an environmentally friendly way way sanity articles. a lot of a lot of engineers believe that a salt lake is like a swimming pool. however, you simply pump out the brine filter out the lithium and then pump the liquid back to the source. but this ecosystem has a fragile biological and chemical balance, and mining can ruin it. case it be a bit less of water. so far flores and his neighbors have been fighting a losing battle. a number of big companies will soon start mining lithium here. but

the protests will continue. flores has 7 children and 7 grand children. over the next 50 years, they may decide to leave the country. many to lions already have. flores often discusses this problem with his mother. good, but those are difficult to read. the earth is like a mother to us and even though that we have to respect her and protector and know that she gives us life. and she also protects otts, less damage. ah, 4 generations of the forest family live under one roof. they raise mama's and we've textiles. from the wool flores complains that traditional life and the region is disappearing. many of the local young people have gone off to work for the mining companies and those jobs

pay. well we return to bolivia. the government says it plans to produce 40 percent of the global demand for lithium by 2030 and that's a pretty ambitious goal. but to do that, they'll need foreign partners. the final decision will be up to the ministers in the bolivian capital, la pas economist jani. romero helped to negotiate the original deal with german company ac i systems summer. lisa olivia lost all about a minute, but i called bolivia, must regain investors trust if they're called after the government canceled the a c. i contract, i believe you anointed, but some companies have benefited from that situation was gone but and now they don't want the germans to get back to the game and up with in the still he's absent

olivia, the competitors include chinese and u. s. corporations. mm. tesla founder, ellen musk is also said to be interested in tapping into bolivia, lithium reserves, driving the government has not yet made a final decision. oh, after months of political chaos, bolivians elected a new president in october 2020. the lease ourself is a former economics minister and was the preferred candidate of ex president able morales both, i believe it was our government will represent the interests of all bolivians, and we will restore unity in our country. our sal proved especially popular among indigenous voters. now he will have to

decide whether to negotiate a new lithium deal with a c i a s or find another international partner nozzle leah. on the corner, we must do everything we can to use the latest technology and move forward quickly with lithium production. a process williams of texas, the previous contract with germany humor would not have brought us the rapid industrial progress that we see. all of it experts say a new deal will have to clearly define the roles of the participants and specify the distribution of royalties and profits. and really, thunder mental changes in the lithium production model are on the horizon. for example, producers could be ordered to do more to protect the environment. a broad based group of julian citizens is now drafting

a new constitution. in the wake of massive protests that began in 2019 biologist christine a door to door was among those elected to draft the new constitution from the minnesota principality. i demand that the salt lakes be preserved over the long term. if we continue to pursue short term economic goals, i'll destroy them yet though i am, the lithium boom may bring prosperity to the andes region. but at what price? to me again, we eloquent well if we were to destroy our salt lakes because of lithium production, as i do not. and we'd certainly live to regret at you, but i would still many feel left out moments if i don't need lithium, i want to go on living like i do, you know, i thought what effect will the push towards electron mobility have on south america

pricing, comalla minute don't de la in germany. electro mobility represents the development of the clean vehicle technology either and an end to the use of fossil fuel senate here, flossing, seen in battery. but this transition cannot be made at the expense of fragile ecosystem. it goes like our salt lake under the willis, aladdin, and illinois figure so ah ah, ah, ah! with

who knows she is the epitome of european royalty. but to the vast majority of her britain, she has always just been her majesty. elizabeth, the 2nd is celebrating us 7 decade on the throne. and we find out just

what people think of her a 90 minutes on d. w. ah, with one of mankind's oldest ambition could be within reach or what is it really is possible to reverse aging researchers and scientists all over the world. oriental against time. the dna molecules though has 28000000 different our glasses. they are peers and rivals with one during goal, 2 out smart nature. one of the most insightful discoveries in the

history of mankind. more life starts may 28th on dw them a room and every man knows that the child needs food. that food can do nothing. before movies, news can. we had a lot of programs. they drop over the school because they were eating nothing when it coming from home. that could have easily been us. anyone of a with,

[000:00:00;00] with this is the w news. why? but from berlin tonight, a warning that ukraine spine against russian forces in the east of the country is going badly. towns and cities are being hit by intense shelley, as moscow focuses on capturing ukraine's industrial heartland. also coming up