engineer marcello castro is monitoring the first evaporating basins used in this process. if we remove 10 or 15 centimeters from the top, we'd find the base elements under the entire surface. >> salt. and this is lithium. >> nearly 5.5 million tons. >> all of this belongs to us. this time we are not going to work for others. for the first time, we're going to profit for ourselves from what belongs to us. and we'll do it with passion because we're working for our land. >> bolivian president evo morales sparked this passion. he wants to end an exploitation of the indigenous people that he says has lasted hundreds of years. bolivia's natural treasures have always been in demand. but most profits from copper, gold, or silver have gone to foreigners. >> these riches will come back to the bolivians and their state, as per a presidential decree. we will make this region a development center for new forms of energy. >> morales wants all phrases of the production process to occur in bolivia. some 650 million euros are to be invested in the project. but it remains unclear whether bo