reporter: maria belen andreada is responsible for safety at the plant. lithium has created 1000 jobs here. staff at the plant work for two weeks and then have a week off. she's taking the bus home to potosi. it's a four-hour ride. we visit her there. there's a lot to see. at an elevation of over 4000 meters, the city is one of the highest in the world. since colonial times, its silver and tin mines have made its foreign owners rich and its workers sick. it's been reported that hundreds of children still work in the mines. many bolivians fear that foreign companies will again try to take control of their country's natural resources. maria: my city is poor despite its natural resources. now we have a second chance -- this time with lithium, which we call whihite gold. we hope not just to extract it, but to develop an entire production chain and process it ourselves. as a nation, we want to do it on our own terms. reporter: outside of town, there is a factory for rechargeable lithium batteries. it's is a major step forward for the country. now it's looking