General Manager, Patricio de Solminihac urged to let the institutional framework work, with regard to the debate over water in the Atacama salt flat.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018.- A "very aggressive" investment plan will be presented by the SQM administration, led by its general manager, Patricio de Solminihac, to the board in the coming days. This was anticipated by the executive himself, who listed some of the projects that will be worked on, all of them related to lithium.
"We are polishing the investment plan for 2019, but it will be very aggressive. For the development of lithium in Antofagasta will require US $ 525 million that we have in a first stage already completed, which meant almost US $ 85 million that took us to 70 thousand tons of capacity. By 2020, we expect to reach 180,000 tons of capacity, "he said.
Also, in front of the production problems generated in the expansion of one of its plants, it reiterated that it will operate normally in the first quarter of 2019.
"This was a tremendously rapid project that we designed, not only based on time but also with a highly optimized investment level of US $ 4 thousand per ton of installed capacity and, in addition, intervening a plant in operation. We knew it was difficult and during the start-up we came across things that were a bit beyond what we expected, but clearly in the process of being solved.
We hope that by 2019 we will not have any effect of this type and that everything will be completely solved, "he said.
Salt basin
In addition, Solminihac issued its first statement in response to requests from mining companies such as Escondida, BHP and Zaldívar, from Antofagasta Minerals, the mining arm of the Luksic group, to extend their water extraction permits in the Atacama basin. The executive of the mining company, which also operates in that area, said that the institutional framework should continue to function and that the sustainability of the site should be prioritized.
"We have an institutional structure that works and has to continue to function and clearly worry about giving (permits) what the basin can effectively grant and be sustainable," said de Solminihac.
This, after Escondida and Zaldívar requested the extension of the groundwater extraction operation. The first, for 11 years, given that its current permit expires in 2019, but asking for an extraction rate equivalent to 46% of what it currently has and that implies 640 liters per second (l / s) and the second, for 212.75 l / s annual average from the middle of 2025 until 2029, then decrease it to 30 l / s between 2029 and 2031, during which time you will develop your closure plan if your request achieves the green light.
