In the last year or so there has been many news reports on the potential for Bolivia to profit from its vast lithium carbonate  reserves (search google for Bolivia + lithium and you will find hundreds of articles). Lithium has been touted as the “new oil” as it is only available in limited amounts in certain parts of the world and is a vital component in a number of popular products used today and also for products of the future. Mobile phones, PDAs and laptops all use batteries made with lithium and, perhaps the most crucial factor for the future,  the car industry is moving towards a greener future with  electric cars that use lithium or lithium hybrid batteries. This will increase demand immensely and with Bolivia having around 50% (5.4 million tones) of the worlds Lithium deposits it could offer the poorest nation in South America a chance to increases its revenues dramatically. The deposits are located in the Salt flats of Uyuni which is a principle tourist attraction in the country.