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That's an exciting document, particularly the part about creating manufacturing jobs that have a realistic potential of product exportation. I wonder if TSLA t

That's an exciting document, particularly the part about creating manufacturing jobs that have a realistic potential of product exportation. I wonder if TSLA threw Texas into the mix as incentive to repeal their Tesla ban. Re: http://www.teslamotors.com/advocacy_texas http://www.teslamotors.com/advocacy_texas I have a sneaking suspicion that it's going to be difficult for anyone in the U.S. to garner enough lithium to go full scale. Anyone know if Bolivia has sorted out their intentions for its epic lithium reserves? Perhaps, Mr. Musk has a friend or two there. Edit (answering my own question): http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/bolivia/130321/bolivian-lithium-exports-smartphone-electric-car-battery http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/bol... Edit 2 (more on the same.. more recent and relevant article): http://seekingalpha.com/article/1971851-tesla-motors-and-bolivias-lithium-strategy-whats-at-stake http://seekingalpha.com/article/1971851-tesla-motors-and-bol...

grecy 13y ago
> Anyone know if Bolivia has sorted out their intentions for its epic lithium reserves? Last I heard, they were planning to completely destroy the Uyuni Salt Flats to mine it for Lithium, which would be a horrible, horrible shame. It's spectacularly beautiful, and I was lucky enough to drive across it in my own Jeep a few years back[1,2] Also, once you've spent some time in the Silver mine at Potosi[3], it becomes horribly clear how bad it really is there. It drove me to tears. The tldr; is that miners work in horrible conditions for a few dollars a day and have a life expectancy of ~35. The silver is sold to the Bolivian government for a fraction of the world market price. The Bolivian government sells it to the Peruvian government for a 10x mark-up, which is still a fraction of the world market price. The Peruvian government sells it to the US government for a 10x mark-up, which is still way below the world market price. The miners die very poor. [1] http://theroadchoseme.com/the-uyuni-salt-flats-to-chile-1 http://theroadchoseme.com/the-uyuni-salt-flats-to-chile-1 [2] http://theroadchoseme.com/the-uyuni-salt-flats-to-chile-2 http://theroadchoseme.com/the-uyuni-salt-flats-to-chile-2 [3] http://theroadchoseme.com/potosi http://theroadchoseme.com/potosi
- josh-wrale 13y ago
  That's a very enlightening answer. Thank you very much.
- kevinskii 13y ago
  Thanks also for the Wiki Overland link (www.wikioverland.org) in your HN profile. I wasn't familiar with the site. What a terrific find.
  - grecy 13y ago
    You're very welcome. It's my side project that I created when I returned from my Alaska->Argentina drive to give back to the Overlander community that gave me so much. I'm struggling to attract new people to the site, and especially to get people to update it. If you can help get the word out, that would be awesome. Thanks. If you're seriously considering an Overland trip, I'm very happy to help in any way I possibly can. Shoot me an email at dan@wikioverland.org if you have specific questions or whatever.
    - patcon 13y ago
      Wait a sec... are you the Dan who used to date Sweeney? Small world. I was the guy from Toronto who was actually considering tagging along for the Africa trip :)
      - grecy 13y ago
        Haha, that's me. I'm off to Sweeney's house for movie night tonight :)
- maxerickson 13y ago
  Your 100x silver story is incredible. U.S. gov claims direct trade, which makes some amount of sense: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35751.htm http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35751.htm

grecy 13y ago

> Anyone know if Bolivia has sorted out their intentions for its epic lithium reserves? Last I heard, they were planning to completely destroy the Uyuni Salt Flats to mine it for Lithium, which would be a horrible, horrible shame. It's spectacularly beautiful, and I was lucky enough to drive across it in my own Jeep a few years back[1,2] Also, once you've spent some time in the Silver mine at Potosi[3], it becomes horribly clear how bad it really is there. It drove me to tears. The tldr; is that miners work in horrible conditions for a few dollars a day and have a life expectancy of ~35. The silver is sold to the Bolivian government for a fraction of the world market price. The Bolivian government sells it to the Peruvian government for a 10x mark-up, which is still a fraction of the world market price. The Peruvian government sells it to the US government for a 10x mark-up, which is still way below the world market price. The miners die very poor. [1] http://theroadchoseme.com/the-uyuni-salt-flats-to-chile-1 http://theroadchoseme.com/the-uyuni-salt-flats-to-chile-1 [2] http://theroadchoseme.com/the-uyuni-salt-flats-to-chile-2 http://theroadchoseme.com/the-uyuni-salt-flats-to-chile-2 [3] http://theroadchoseme.com/potosi http://theroadchoseme.com/potosi

josh-wrale 13y ago
That's a very enlightening answer. Thank you very much.
kevinskii 13y ago
Thanks also for the Wiki Overland link (www.wikioverland.org) in your HN profile. I wasn't familiar with the site. What a terrific find.
- grecy 13y ago
  You're very welcome. It's my side project that I created when I returned from my Alaska->Argentina drive to give back to the Overlander community that gave me so much. I'm struggling to attract new people to the site, and especially to get people to update it. If you can help get the word out, that would be awesome. Thanks. If you're seriously considering an Overland trip, I'm very happy to help in any way I possibly can. Shoot me an email at dan@wikioverland.org if you have specific questions or whatever.
  - patcon 13y ago
    Wait a sec... are you the Dan who used to date Sweeney? Small world. I was the guy from Toronto who was actually considering tagging along for the Africa trip :)
    - grecy 13y ago
      Haha, that's me. I'm off to Sweeney's house for movie night tonight :)
maxerickson 13y ago
Your 100x silver story is incredible. U.S. gov claims direct trade, which makes some amount of sense: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35751.htm http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35751.htm