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Bolivien, Alti Plano, Salar de Uyuni, nahe Isla del Pescado, aus der Serie "SALAR", Suedamerika, Januar 2011 Engl.: Bolivia, Alti Plano, Salar de Uyuni, near Isla del Pescado, from the series "SALAR", South America, January 2011, salt desert, salt flat, salt, salt lake, Andes, lithium, travel, tourists, tourism, backpacking, landscape, lonely, contour, horizon, loneliness [ In the South West of Bolivia lies the „Salar de Uyuni“, a vast salt flat at an elevation of 3, 656 meters. The crust serves as a source of salt and covers a pool of brine, which is exceptionally rich in lithium. It contains 50 to 70% of the world‘s lithium reserves. Lithium, a key resource for the battery industry, is a strategic asset for the technology development. ..In Llipi Llipi, close to the small village of Rio Grande, some 80 km from Uyuni, Comibol, the Bolivian comission dealing with mineral resources, is building a pilot plant, the first in Bolivia, to extract and process lithium...While Comibol and the Bolivian state try to grow a chemical industry in and around the Salar de Uyuni, tourists are still a main source of income for the local population. This photo shows tourists undertaking a jeep tour through the salt, stopping close to the "Isla del Pescado" to take pictures and enjoy the landscape. ] (KEYSTONE/LAIF/Daniel Hofer)