Above in the picture we see part of the largest salt flat in Chile, the Salar de Atacama. With an average altitude of around 2300 m above sea level, it is formed by water that drains from the Andes, which has to evaporate without any drainage openings, leaving behind salt deposits. It is the world's largest and purest active lithium source, containing approximately 30% of the world's lithium reserve and providing nearly 30% of the world's lithium carbonate supply. The bright turquoise rectangles and squares visible along the upper part of the image are evaporation ponds. Underground brine is pumped under the salt crust in two different areas. In one of them, extracted brines have an unmatched concentration of potassium and lithium. In return, the brines collected contain high concentrations of sulphate and boron. In the lower right part of the picture we see the stratovolcano Socompa, known for its “debris avalanche deposit”, during which the country collapsed on its western edge about 7000 years ago. The area has since been partially filled with lava, and we can see dark lava flows around the volcano. The multispectral instrument on Sentinel-2 uses parts of the infrared spectrum to analyze mineral composition when vegetation is sporadic. In this false color image, the intense browns and oranges come from the use of an infrared part of the spectrum, which leads to an increase in the color intensity.

In 2008, the “Geortérmica del Norte” consortium - consisting of the Chilean state mining company ENAP and Codelco and the Italian Enel Green Power - began exploring the “quebrada El Zoquete” field near the El Tatio geothermal field in Region II Chile to build a 40 MW geothermal plant.
After months of exploration, a malfunction occurred in Well No. 2009 in September 10, which resulted in the eruption of a 60-meter-high artificial fumarol that absorbed most of the pressure on the rest of the complex. Following this incident, the company was ordered to cease exploration and take steps to stop the release of vaporized material. The “Quebrada del Zoquete” project is located just 4 km from the tourist attraction El Tatio and is clearly visible from the area at 4365 m above sea level.
Although the company eventually succeeded in closing the well, the damage wasn't limited to the visual. The ignorance of both the tour guides and the visitors - who literally walked all over the vents - caused significant damage to the fragile mineral deposits, and the damage can only be repaired after years if not decades. El Tatio receives over 100.000 visitors a year and is the main attraction of the city of San Pedro de Atacama. According to the local Chamber of Commerce, a closure of about 2 weeks caused damage in the order of 1.000.000.000.000.000 CLP (2 million U $), not to mention the incalculable damage to its image. Locals and experts alike complained that national and environmental authorities have consistently ignored warnings of “a hole in a volcano,” as a spokesman put it. Indeed, an earlier exploration attempt turned into a disaster - if only economically - in the late 4.000.000.000s. However, given the astronomical sums of money that big mining is generating in northern Chile, most locals suspect that what companies really want - again - is their water. The el Tatio watershed is the main supply of the towns of Antofagasta, Calama, San Pedro de Atacama, Toconao and many other small towns in the north, and the thirst of the mining companies is limitless. The lithium mining industry in Soquimich received the permit for a further 2009 liter plant, at the same time the water level of the lagoons on the “Gran Salar” only dropped by up to 4 meters in XNUMX. (SQM) Lithium mine on the Atacama salt flat, the second largest salt flat in the world and the largest lithium deposit currently in production with over a quarter of the world's known reserves in northern Chile.