In the filings, which have not been previously reported, Albemarle voices concern about a 2016 investigation by Chilean authorities that found over a period of several years SQM sucked up more of the lithium-rich brine from beneath the Salar than its permits allowed. However, the legal action does not represent an existential threat to the world’s largest copper mine. A park ranger irrigates a young tree at Cejar lagoon at Atacama salt flat near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, Aug. 15, 2018. By continuing to browse you agree to our use of cookies. Dear user, please be aware that we use cookies to help users navigate our website content and to help us understand how we can improve the user experience. In 2019, Buckeye Brine was granted permission to convert two of its Class II wells to Class I wells for the injection of other types of waste beyond brine from the oil and gas industry. In July, Chile’s biggest copper producer Codelco suspended a US$1.2 billion mining project at its Salvador division after lawyers for the Chilean state accused the operation of causing irreparable environmental damage. Processing and pumping water hundreds of kilometres inland and thousands of meters up into the Andes Mountains is an expensive affair and not all mines have the cost structure to bear it, says Perez. For almost four years the activity has been the source of a legal dispute between the communities of the Atacama Desert and SQM, one of the country’s biggest companies, which is partially owned by the Chinese firm Tianqi since 2019.. Water flows in an irrigation canal in front of Lascar volcano in the Talabre area at Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert, Chile, Aug. 16, 2018. Like canaries in a coal mine, the health of the trees was meant to act as an early warning signal of water problems. Two years later, more trees were dying but SQM failed to notify authorities, according to government inspection reports reviewed by Reuters. “This will trigger a radical change in the legislation,” Huepe says. By continuing to browse you agree to our use of cookies. Last year, following a challenge by Atacameño communities, the First Environmental Court ordered authorities to rewrite a US$25 million remediation plan agreed with SQM (NYSE: SQM) for damage caused by its lithium operations, including excessive brine pumping. Chef Nick Peters is the new head chef at Batch & Brine in Lafayette, California and with his arrival comes a … Empty water containers hang outside a mud house of a park ranger at Cejar lagoon at Atacama salt flat near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, Aug. 15, 2018. The trouble is that the rights have often been granted without regard to their environmental impact, argues Benjamin Perez, a mining lawyer at Santiago law firm Guerrero Olivos. It has the highest known concentration of lithium, averaging 0.14% (or 1400 ppm) lithium equivalent to around 1,680 mg/l due to it 1.2 g/cc density, and is the world’s largest producer of lithium carbonate. The Brine Well Eatery provides guests with fresh, local, humanely raised, and sustainably grown food, with a fast casual feel. It said this uncertainty was reason enough for regulators to take steps to restrict extraction. That filing came a month after Eduardo Bitran, who was then head of Chile's state development agency, Corfo, raised similar concerns about the amount of brine SQM had been drawing and other infractions. Credit: BHP Sustainability Report, 2017. Lithium-ion batteries are key components for most consumer electronics, from cell phones and laptops to electric cars. It is anticipated that following successful completion of this test, pilot plant tests will be carried out with brines in Bolivia, Argentina, and other salars in Chile. This quantity of brine was not quite economical for a bromine recovery plant. In a March 2017 filing, for example, Albemarle said it was critical for the authorities to determine how much SQM had overdrawn because that could affect the availability of brine for other projects. 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However, there is currently a gap between the higher CO2 emissions intensity of mineral concentrate production and lower intensity brine production when assessing the supply chain from extraction through to refining. The Salar de Atacama, in Northern Chile is the largest producing brine deposit in the world. But they do not have long. “It is no longer acceptable for many people that water can be traded like private goods,” he says. Earlier this year, BHP announced that Escondida had stopped extracting groundwater following a massive expansion of its desalination capacity. 1. Depleted oil wells later were employed for brine production to raise the plant feed to 1,430 m3 daily. The company expects to extract more lithium from the same amount of pumped brine by using brine earmarked to produce potash and using higher-grade wells. But the surface measurably sank when a small percentage of the brine flowed out, and shifts each summer as water drops in the adjacent irrigation canal. “We´re not overdrawing. For its part, SQM, controlled by Julio Ponce Lerou, a reclusive Chilean billionaire, says it already has all the brine it needs to produce more lithium. The rivals said each had all the brine they needed for current and future production. When it comes to the Salar, "What is SQM going to be able to do? Volume 106 Number 20 September 28 – October 11, 2020. Meanwhile, SQM has accused Albemarle of overdrawing brine at its mine and questioned in a filing whether its rival's actions could have repercussions on the availability of brine reserves in the Salar. In the first stage, the brine at Salar de Maricunga in Chile will be treated using the pilot plant. In celebrating the new contracts, the two companies said they were confident they could significantly boost output without drawing more than their current quotas of lithium-rich brine, or saltwater, that has for millennia accumulated in pools beneath the Atacama. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016915-slow-cooked-red-chile-turkey To learn more, click more information Accept. Following intervention by Mining Minister Baldo Prokurica, the council has agreed to suspend the action to give time for a viable solution to be worked out with Codelco and other authorities. As a result, the new constitution, which will be drawn up by an elected constituent body over the next two years, will almost certainly weaken the protection of water rights as a form of private property. Catch up on the developing stories making headlines today. It said in a statement to Reuters that its submissions to the regulator spoke for themselves. When a judge closed wells supplying its Maricunga gold mine in 2016, again due to damage to wetlands, Kinross Gold (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) had little choice but to suspend operations. Lithium analyst Joe Lowry said the filings had potential implications for the global production of lithium, which has become one of the world's hottest commodities. Its primary asset is a 17.35% interest in the Maricunga Lithium Brine Project in Chile. Iodine occurs as NaIO3 (Sodium iodate) and NaIO4 (Sodium per iodate) in chile brine wells. "If SQM is extracting more brine than it is permitted from the Salar, that can have repercussions on the availability of reserves in the basin for other projects,” wrote lawyers for Albemarle subsidiary Rockwood Lithium Ltd in the March 2017 filing. Additional pumping equipment was installed in some of the wells in order t o provide 795 m3 of brine daily for the bromine recovery project. Native Algarrobo trees -- hardy desert hardwoods that survive by sending shoots deep into underground aquifers -- were shedding their leaves and dying. A report published the Chilean Copper Commission in December 2019 found that desalinated water will rise from just over a quarter to almost half of the water consumed by the country’s copper mines between now and the end of the decade. It wrote to the regulator saying it was "outrageous" that Albemarle was presenting itself as a defender of the environment when Albemarle had acknowledged overdrawing water in 2008 and between 2010-2012. For Mariana Cervetto, a hydro-geologist who has reviewed technical aspects of the case for both Corfo, the state development agency, and the local indigenous communities that surround the Atacama salt flat, questions still outweigh answers. But desalination is not a viable solution for everyone, experts say. But over nearly two years it has filed four plans with regulators to bring its operations back into line with environmental approvals, which, among other things, specify how much brine SQM can pump. I was the Manager of Project Development for OUTOKUMPU MINING in Chile. SQM declined to comment on its water fight with Albemarle. The shadow of a roof is cast on an old corral at Cejar lagoon at Atacama salt flat near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, Aug. 15, 2018. In a recent interview with Reuters, Kissam, Albemarle's CEO, insisted there was “no question” that there was enough water in the Salar to maintain lithium operations. It is not the only mining company turning to the ocean. We are therefore found in salt ponds, sea and surface salt beds. The company can produce 80,000 metric tons of lithium annually in the Salar -- roughly 36 percent of global demand in 2017 -- helped by technology it has developed that will allow it to extract more lithium from the same amount of brine, he said. Lithium Chile’s Salar de Atacama lithium property in Chile’s Antofagasta region. Brine grew to be the primary source for lithium production for a … The lithium industry extracts brine from the salar and returns minimal fluid to the aquifers (the water in the brine is lost in evaporative processing). “We are sure that we are going to obtain all the necessary approvals for the new plant in the coming months,” SQM chief executive Ricardo Ramos told analysts on a conference call. In April, they presented a similar suit against BHP-controlled Minera Escondida for alleged damage caused by its water wells to another salt-flat, Salar de Punta Negra. We´re pumping at the rates well within our permits,” he said. The depth to this formation in that area is approximately 2,150 feet. After Australia, Chile has the second-largest supply of the metal, which is extracted from underground brine water pumped to the surface. Agreed at the height of last year’s violent protests over social inequalities, many see the referendum as a chance to eliminate constraints imposed on the country’s politics 40 years ago by military dictator General Augusto Pinochet. Brine pools from a lithium mine, that belongs US-based Albemarle Corp, is seen on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert, Chile, Aug. 16, 2018. The 23 dead trees represented one-third of those SQM had committed to monitoring. Tighter regulation could hobble both companies’ plans to ramp-up lithium production over the coming years, although SQM has brushed off the threat. These naturally occurring metals are dissolved in geothermal brine, a byproduct of geothermal energy production. SQM has not confirmed overdrawing brine. Workers prepare to install a moisture metering system in the middle of Atacama salt flat near Toconao in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, Aug. 15, 2018. in Chile, with characteristics comparable to the world-leading Atacama brine deposit (which sits at the bottom of the global lithium cost curve). In one of the world’s driest deserts, the battle for water is heating up. Burtynsky’s intricately patterned and textured landscapes possess a crop-formation exoticism; yet it turns out that we humans are the architects of this unnerving and seemingly alien terrain. Two rivals said each had all the brine they needed for future production. It is not the first time the lawyers have involved themselves in water-related cases. Over the last decade, a dozen mining companies, including copper producer Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO), iron ore miner CAP Minería and Lundin Mining (TSE: LUN) have all built desalination plants to reduce pressure on scant or nonexistent ground and surface water supplies. Fluorine occurs as Fluorspar,Caf2, cryolite Na3Alf6, Apatite CaF2.3Ca3 (PO4)2. Please see our Privacy & Cookie Usage Policy to learn more. The commitment will help defuse local opposition to the company’s ambitious expansion plans. Although the brine is undrinkable, local communities say their actions have dried up local water tables hitting agriculture and local wildlife, such as flamingos. The true state of the Salar's water supply, both fresh and saltwater, has become an obsession of lithium industry watchers because of the area's huge importance in satisfying soaring global demand for the powdery white metal. A salt well (or brine well) is used to mine salt from caverns or deposits. That process is now underway. Lithium brine deposits represent about 66 percent of global lithium resources and are found mainly in the salt flats of Chile, Argentina, China and Tibet. Mining companies sifting northern Chile’s Atacama Desert for copper, lithium, and other minerals are increasingly finding water is their most precious resource. Water is used as a solution to dissolve the salt or halite deposits so that they can be extracted by pipe to an evaporation process, which results in a brine or dry product for sale or use. But, it added, “Our conclusions indicate that neither the environmental sustainability nor productivity of the Salar de Atacama are compromised.”. In Chile, brine is considered a mineral like copper. Bearing Lithium Corp. is a lithium-focused mineral exploration and development company. Brine for batteries: Chilean authorities found that lithium miner SQM overdrew water from the Atacama Desert’s limited resources, and approved a $25 million compliance plan for the company in January. BHP (LSE: BHP) is also facing a fine of up to US$5 million for breaching the terms of its environmental license. Chile's environmental regulator has said SQM made changes to how it monitors wells without authorization, making it difficult to track the impact of SQM's pumping on brine supplies. Chlorine occurs as Halite, Nacl: NaCl is found are form in brine wells, and Sea water. FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows the brine pools of SQM lithium mine on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert of northern Chile, January 10, 2013. Most of the world’s iodine supply comes from three areas: the Chilean desert nitrate mines, the gasfields and oilfields in Japan, and the iodine-rich brine wells in northwestern Oklahoma. The first three plans were returned to SQM by regulators for further revisions; the latest, filed in September, has yet to receive a response. SQM hit back the following month. Mike Patterson & Alex Toro. Brine pools from a lithium mine, that belongs US-based Albemarle Corp, is seen on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert, Chile, Aug. 16, 2018. On Sept. 6, Antofagasta announced that it plans to double the size of a desalination plant currently under construction to 800 litres per second that will allow its Los Pelambres copper mine, the fourth largest in Chile, to reduce consumption of freshwater by around 95%. I don't see any issue with our ability to get (the brine) ... today, tomorrow and throughout the term of that agreement,” which ends in 2043, Albemarle CEO Luke Kissam told investors in August. Another plant to supply its Spence mine is due to be commissioned later this year. Vital to processes such as concentrating and leaching, miners typically extract the water they need from aquifers located high in the Andes Mountains having obtained the necessary rights from Chile’s water authority. Mining companies sifting northern Chile’s Atacama Desert for copper, lithium, and other minerals are increasingly finding water is their most precious resource. The concentrated brine that is produced is then driven west in small trucks to processing plants on Chile’s coast. By: Tom Azzopardi, Special to The Northern Miner Lithium is considered a strategic resource in Chile, and its exploitation is steeped in difficulties. "The lithium world is on pins and needles," he said. Maricunga is located 170km north-east of the mining town of Copiapo and 250km from the But a Reuters review of filings with Chile's environmental regulator shows Albemarle striking a different tone, expressing concern about how much brine rival SQM had been drawing and the impact that could have on future production from the area. Credit: Lithium Chile. Albemarle declined comment when asked by Reuters whether that was correct. In addition, LPI remains the only ASX-listed company with exposure to a lithium brine resource in Chile. BHP rejects the charges and is planning to appeal. “This is definitely going to happen.”. In addition to their use as energy sources, the brines produced in Chile's extensive geothermal sources could also be used to produce fresh water, which could help defuse the growing conflicts over the use of water resources. A desalination plant for BHP’s Escondida mine in Chile. Former president of the Atacamenos Peoples Council, Ana Ramos, holds up a handful of alfalfa on a dried alfalfa field at Salar area next to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, Aug. 15, 2018. According to the ENMRD website, The Carlsbad Brine Well operated from 1978 to 2008 as a source of salt-laden water for use in oil well drilling. Wells noted demand growth for lithium is likely to increase overall CO2 emissions from the sector. If interested contact Paul Preminger ae: 1 778 242 1233. Your email address will not be published. The extraction of minerals such as lithium, magnesium, potassium, boron or gold from geothermal brines is not easy from a … On Oct. 25, Chileans will vote to decide whether to change the country’s constitution. That brine has held up the cavern roof. In a letter to the environmental regulator, Bitran wrote that SQM's actions pose a "severe risk" to the ecosystem of the Salar and its brine reserves. The Rajo Inca project, which will extract the remaining resources in Salvador’s Indio Muerto deposit, is designed to produce 93,000 tonnes a year of copper, expanding and extending production at Salvador by several decades. If you have ideas for how we can improve our services, we’d love to hear from you. Mr Bucher said SQM would extract more lithium from the same amount of pumped brine by using brine earmarked to make potash fertiliser and using higher-grade wells. I have designed the CHINOOK SEAWATER DESALINATION SYSTEM using SOLAR ENERGY (Direct Sunlight, Wind Turbines and Solar Cells) exclusively to produce high purity potable grade water on a 24/7 basis. GGE Chile acquired access to the site in January 2009 and drilled a successful exploration well in March 2009 that represented the first high-quality geothermal resource discovery in the country since the late 1960s. on "Water rights under scrutiny in Chile’s Atacama Desert", Tom Azzopardi, Special to The Northern Miner, Volume 106 Number 20 September 28 – October 11, 2020, BHP to pay $840M to end coal energy dependence in Chile, Chile struggles to maintain copper production as coronavirus spreads, Chile court looks at alleged Escondida breaches, Mitsubishi acquires 30% of Mantoverde copper mine, Fission offers $30M bought deal for Triple R development, Upcoming Edumine Courses: ESG and sustainable mining, Proposed new royalty unsettles miners in Chile. 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