• The firing of several Argentine staff sparked the protest.
• China, already dominating the processing of minerals vital to the green economy, is expanding its involvement in mining them.
• Chinese companies now control an estimated 33% of the lithium at projects currently producing or under construction.

Earlier this year, angry chants outside her dormitory in northern Argentina woke Ai Qing up in the middle of the night. Peering from the window, she saw Argentine workers surrounding the compound and blocking the entrance with flaming tires.

“It became scary as I witnessed the sky being lit up by the fire. It turned into a riot,” recounts Ms. Ai, who works for a Chinese company extracting lithium from salt flats in the Andes mountains for use in batteries.

Additionally, the protest, sparked by the firing of several Argentine staff, represents just one of a growing number of cases of friction between Chinese businesses and host communities. China, which already dominates the processing of minerals vital to the green economy, is expanding its involvement in mining them.

Furthermore, only 10 years ago, a Chinese company purchased the country’s first stake in an extraction project within the “lithium triangle” of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, which holds most of the world’s lithium reserves.

Mining publications, corporate, government, and media reports indicate that many more Chinese investments in local mining operations have ensued. Based on their shareholdings, Chinese companies now control an estimated 33% of the lithium at projects currently producing the mineral or those under construction, as calculated by the BBC.

But as Chinese businesses have expanded, they have encountered allegations of abuses similar to those often directed at other international mining giants.

Moreover, the tire-burning protest served as a rude awakening for Ai Qing. She had anticipated a quiet life in Argentina but found herself involved in conflict mediation due to her knowledge of Spanish.

“It wasn’t easy,” she says.

“Beyond the language, we have to tone down many things, like how management thinks the employees are simply lazy and too reliant on the union, and how locals think Chinese people are only here to exploit them.”

Moreover, the BBC Global China Unit has identified at least 62 mining projects worldwide, in which Chinese companies have a stake, designed to extract either lithium or one of three other minerals key to green technologies – cobalt, nickel, and manganese.

All these minerals are used to manufacture lithium-ion batteries, which are utilized in electric vehicles. Additionally, these solar panels are now a high industrial priority for China. Some projects rank among the largest producers of these minerals globally.

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