In the past decades global lithium production has tripled to meet the demand to meet the demand for storage for renewable electricity. So far, the majority of this lithium has come from classic mining operations, mainly in Australia and China. But since 70% of the world's reserves are in the Andes, where the lithium is sourced from salt-rich groundwater, we need to think about the impacts of mining, especially on local water resources. The perspective paper shows what impacts can be expected and how these can be comprehensively assessed.
