Abstract This essay experimentally juxtaposes two kinds of extractivism in Jujuy, northwest Argentina—archaeological excavations at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century on the one hand, and contemporary lithium mining in the 21st century on the other. The latter is linked to a government green developmentalist agenda, which is further manifested by the recent taking into service of a hypermodern, electric train, the “solar” train ( tren solar ), so‐called because it is powered by lithium batteries fed from an electric grid which includes solar energy. Extrapolating from a celebratory poem, the essay further suggests that the “properties” that once enthralled the traveler to return to the magic beauty of Jujuy province have now become “witchy properties” of both archaeological and mineral extractivism, disturbing old balances and setting society and environment out of joint.
Arnd Schneider (Tue,) studied this question.