The Lithium Triangle contains about 64 million tonnes of identified lithium resources across Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, roughly 43% of the global total of 150 million tonnes.
A review by geologist José Cabello examines 43 evaluated salt flats within a wider landscape of about 130 salars, saline lakes and lagoons across the Central Andes. The lithium-rich brines formed as weathering released lithium from volcanic rocks, water carried it into closed basins and evaporation concentrated it alongside potassium, boron and magnesium.
That geology also makes new projects difficult to assess. Unlike hard-rock deposits, brines move through groundwater systems, complicating exploration, sampling and estimates of recoverable supply. Brine chemistry varies between salt flats, while water availability is constrained by the region’s arid climate.
Salar de Atacama in Chile shows how favourable conditions can support large-scale production. Its drier climate, lower impurity levels and access to export routes have helped it become a leading brine source.
Cabello’s compilation identifies more than 16 million tonnes across individual deposits in Argentina and Chile and highlights Altoandinos and Pedernales in Chile, along with Hombre Muerto Oeste, Rincón, Sal de los Ángeles and Sal de Vida in Argentina. The review excludes inferred resources, which are less certain, and points to further evaluation of those estimates and remote reconnaissance of smaller closed basins as areas for additional geological work.
Developers are also testing direct lithium extraction and other processing methods intended to shorten production cycles and improve project economics. Direct extraction can reduce brine withdrawals in some settings, but the review notes that technologies differ in their freshwater use: an approach that withdraws less brine may consume more freshwater, making local water conditions as important as recovery performance.
Bolivia’s development plans illustrate the technology push.