He said the project would employ 28,000 people, with TransCanada predicting only 13,000 temporary construction jobs and the US State Department saying only 50 of them will be permanent positions.
Near the extinct volcano known as Monte Pissis, high in the Andes on the Chile-Argentina border, is a prime location for lithium, the silvery-white metal used in the production of lithium-ion batteries.
Workers ended their strike and invoked a rarely used legal provision that allows them to extend their old contract, which leaves them in the exact same situation they were before they downed tools.