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An Argentine court in the northwestern province of Catamarca has suspended the issuance of new mining permits, demanding fresh environmental impact studies be carried out looking at local lithium projects, a judgment seen byArgentina, inside South America’s so-called “lithium triangle”, is one of the world’s top producers of the metal that is key for the batteries needed to power electric vehicles.
The case said that local mining operations impacted water supply due to the use of “huge quantities of fresh and salt water”, which they alleged had caused a local river to dry up.The court ordered the local government to “refrain from granting new permits/authorizations” in relation to operations in the Los Patos River – Salar del Hombre Muerto area “until the new environmental impact study is complete”.