The Central Andes of South America host the largest known lithium resources in a confined area, but the primary lithium sources of the salar deposits and the mobilisation process of lithium are still a matter of speculation. Chemical weathering at or near the surface and leaching in hydrothermal systems of the active magmatic arc are considered the two main mechanisms of Li extraction from the source rock. The lithium and strontium isotope composition of typical salar deposits offer insights into the processes on how Li brine deposits in Andean evaporites are formed. Data from the Salar de Pozuelos indicate near-surface chemical weathering in a cold and dry climate as the dominant mobilisation process of Li, with evaporation being responsible for the enrichment. The Cenozoic ignimbrites are the favoured source rock for the Li, with subordinate additions from the Palaeozoic basement. The identification of the source rocks is supported by radiogenic Nd and Pb and stable B isotope data from salar deposits. A comparison with other Li brine and salt deposits in the Altiplano-Puna Plateau and its western foothills places the Salar de Pozuelos as an endmember of Li solubilisation by chemical weathering with only minor hydrothermal mobilisation of Li.

南美洲中部安第斯山脉在一个封闭区域内拥有最大的已知锂资源，但盐沼矿床的主要锂资源和锂的动员过程仍然是一个猜测问题。地表或地表附近的化学风化作用和活动岩浆弧热液系统中的浸出被认为是从烃源岩中提取锂的两种主要机制。典型的盐沼矿床的锂和锶同位素组成提供了对安第斯蒸发岩中锂卤水沉积物形成过程的见解。来自 Pozuelos 盐沼的数据表明，寒冷干燥气候下的近地表化学风化是锂的主要迁移过程，蒸发是其富集的原因。新生代熔凝灰岩是锂的有利烃源岩，来自古生代地下室的次要补充。放射成因 Nd 和 Pb 以及来自盐沼矿床的稳定 B 同位素数据支持对烃源岩的识别。与 Altiplano-Puna 高原及其西部山麓的其他锂卤水和盐矿床进行比较，将 Pozuelos 盐沼作为化学风化溶解锂的末端成员，而锂只有少量的热液流动。