About SQM

Caliche

To obtain sodium nitrate, the primary extraction of the mine is done by blasting, followed by mechanical extraction to remove tonnes of earth and rock. At the Maria Elena, Nueva Victoria and Pampa Blanca facilities, the ore is leached in stocks, obtaining solutions intended primarily to produce iodine. Next, the solutions are transported to solar evaporation ponds where the salts crystallize and contain high concentrations of nitrate. Finally, they are transported by truck to the Coya Sur facilities, where they are used in the production process of potassium nitrate.

Brines

Brines, present in concentrated form in the cracks beneath the surface of the Atacama Salt Flat, are extracted from pumping wells that are strategically situated in various parts of the Atacama Salt Flat. After being extracted, the brine is pumped to huge evaporation ponds. There, it remains under the desert sun, in order to increase its concentration. The evaporation rate in this desert location is very high, at around 10 liters per square meter per day. The concentration is constantly monitored in each evaporation pond. Over time, the remaining brine is pumped out, and the salt is harvested.

After a series of evaporations, part of the pumped brine is recovered as a concentrated solution of lithium chloride, a by-product of potassium chloride. Another part of the already concentrated brine is re-injected into underground salt deposits of the Atacama Salt Flat. The salts deposited in the evaporation ponds are appropriately harvested and transported.

Finally, after crushing, froth flotation, drying and compacting processes, potassium chloride, potassium sulphate and boric acid are obtained.

Caliche is a mineral that contains high concentrations of nitrate and iodine, and, to a lesser Extent, potassium. Caliche is encountered in layers or veins which are from 20 cm up to 5 meters thick, covered by a shallow, sterile surface layer that can be from half a meter up to 1.5 meters thick. Uses for caliche have been known for a long time by the native peoples, and during the Spanish conquest in the 17th century it was used as an agricultural fertilizer. Caliche stems from the Quechua word “cachi”, meaning salt.

In the early 19th century, the first form of caliche exploitation started in the so-called “paradas,” settlements of people in areas where the mineral was found. Individually, or in groups armed with a spade, these men extracted the ore, a process which, in the course of time, and thanks to the industry boom since the first shipment to Europe in 1830, grew to become the large, industrialized saltpeter works (more than plants 300 between 1880 and 1996).

The only remaining active plant is María Elena, named after Mary Ellen Condon, the wife of the first Plant Manager, Elias Cappelen. Built on land bought from the Chilean government in 1924, the plant was opened in 1926, equipped with the saltpeter extraction system patented by the Guggenheim Brothers, which replaced the Shanks system. Together with the former Pedro de Valdivia Saltpeter Works, built in 1931, they were the largest saltpeter works (also called nitrate towns), with a combined production capacity exceeding one million tonnes per year.

Today, in the new global economy, there is a new focus on the exploitation of caliche to extract iodine and nitrates, which along with the brines of the Atacama Salt Flat, are vital resources for national and global development. For SQM, the natural heir of this great industry, natural resources are essential to provide the best products and services to its customers. Consequently, SQM is continuously implementing new processes, the most advanced technologies and the most innovative solutions to maximize the available resources, with sustainable and efficient operations.

At SQM, we’re celebrating 50 years. Through effort, consistency and dedication, we’ve worked to achieve excellence. Our goal is to deliver our customers the best of us, our best harvest. During this 50-year journey, we have introduced unique products that help generate life, thanks to excellent plant nutrition. We’re committed to a strong future of new developments that cross borders worldwide, and are constantly working on innovative technologies for sustainable plant growth.

In 1930, the Chilean government created the company “Compañía de Salitre de Chile”, COSACH, of which, the Chilean state owned 50% and private companies that still used the Shanks system (a total of 37 companies) owned the remaining 50%. Due to its poor results, the company was liquidated in 1933 and replaced by the “Saltpeter and Iodine Sales Corporation of Chile” (COVENSA), and at which time companies using the Guggenheim method were incorporated: the Anglo-Chilean Saltpeter Company and the Lautaro Nitrate Company, which meant important changes in the concession and nitrate exploitation. In 1968, the Anglo-Lautaro became part of the “Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile”, currently known as SQM®