Does Water Pollution Influence Willingness to Accept the Installation of a Mine Near a City? Case Study of an Open-Pit Lithium Mine

Abstract

Currently, the use of lithium as a resource in the manufacturing of technological components such as mobile phones, computers or even in the automotive sector, is in high demand. In this sense, the prospects for lithium open-pit mines in order to obtain this highly valued resource have improved remarkably. However, the installation of this type of mine causes certain negative environmental consequences such as air pollution, water pollution, and even a reduction in the biodiversity of the environment, which generates welfare losses due to the cost involved. The objective of this work is to analyse the preferences of the citizens of Cáceres (Spain) regarding the possible opening of an open-pit lithium mine in the surroundings of the city. For this, a choice experiment was carried out to identify the willingness to accept certain levels of contamination and/or reduction of biodiversity and to quantify its monetary quantification. Likewise, a mixed-effects model was applied in order to analyse the heterogeneity in preferences and the willingness to accept the installation. The results showed that water pollution is one of the most relevant attributes in the preferences, revealing a very high willingness to accept (€12–38/year) for water pollution compared to other attributes.