Industrial Minerals July 1997 Salts of the Atacama NO3, I, KCI + Li2CO3 = SQM By Peter Harben and George Edwards Abstract The following article examines the operations and markets of one of the world's largest sources of minerals salts, in the Atacama Desert, exploited by leading industrial minerals producer - Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA (SQM). The Chilean group has no competition in natural sodium nitrate, dominates the iodine market as a price leader, has a captive source of potash with the potential for export, and is one of the lowest cost producers of lithium.SQM has improved the economics of all its operations through a combination of integration and down-stream processing, feedstock self-sufficiency and increased production. Industrial Minerals February 1997 MINSAL lithium carbonate Metamorphosis for lithium by Peter Harben and George Edwards On October 29, 1996, Sociedad Minera Salar de Atacama S.A., or MINSAL successfully precipitated lithium carbonate from brine extracted from its Salar de Atacama operation in northern Chile. From plant groundbreaking in February to the first commercial shipments in December, the lithium project was two months ahead of schedule and matched the target budget of $51m. The following article discusses the metamorphosis of the lithium market, the MINSAL project as well as the company itself, and the impact of these developments on the world lithium market.

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