Atacama Lagoons

This is an interesting story as normally, when the Ataama desert is mentioned, it is usually the part that exists in Chile. In this post it is the other bit of the Atacama desert, in Argentina. At https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/microbiology/lost-world-of-lagoons-filled-with-mounds-of-microbes-discovered-in-atacama-desert … a patchwork of crystal clear lagoons and huge salt plains in the Puna de Atacama desert has been found. They host mounds of rock layered with microbes. The  Puna de Atacama is 12,000 feet above sea level, where Argentina borders Chile. There are twelve pools of shallow crystalline water ringed by mountains. A race is now on to investigate the area as it is earmarked for lithium mining. Another example of the Green Blob trashing the environment. All for no real purpose. Lithium at the moment is more valuable than gold. Another  downside to EVs. However, the post is more interested in the biology involved and how it might be similar to early Mars and early Earth. Mind you, the presence of the lagoons may be an extension of the Lake Titicaca situation, formerly a lagoon at sea level [in the Pleistocene]. What caused the uplift?