SQM shows online the mining of the Salar de Atacama
Panoramic view of evaporation pools

SQM shows online the mining of the Salar de Atacama

"SQM Online" is the name of the new virtual monitoring system launched by the mining company to report, on a daily basis, on the extraction of industrial water, brine and background information of interest in environmental matters.

Although the lithium sites located in the Salar de Atacama have always had an environmental monitoring system, for the first time in their history it will be available to all interested persons or organizations. The person responsible for this is SQM, which, along with complying with the provisions of the modification of the contract signed with CORFO in 2018, deepens the creation of shared social value, care and respect for people, the environment and communities. Thus, the mining company as of August 31 made the website “SQM online” available to the community; whose environmental monitoring system will allow access to parameters and variables from approximately 300 measurement points that the company had from the nucleus to the areas surrounding the Salar de Atacama.

In this milestone towards a more sustainable mining, SQM will report the control and monitoring of the environmental variables that are related in the operation and in the surrounding areas. Users will be able to access information on the extraction of brine and industrial water, meteorological data, environmental monitoring variables, and information of interest to learn more about the operation.

Javier Silva, SQM's Corfo Contract Manager, explains that: “the new portal has very diverse information, from continuous measurement systems for variables such as extractions and levels, and field measurements both by SQM personnel and by external entities validated for these Homeworks. The frequency of taking each of these records is governed by what is committed in the Resolution of Environmental Qualification (RCA) in force, and in the resolutions issued by the Superintendency of the Environment regarding online monitoring systems ”.

The executive added: "This online monitoring system, which meant an investment of US $ 1.000.000 for the company, aims to increase information on environmentally sensitive systems and their surroundings in order to improve knowledge of their hydrogeological dynamics and hydrological, and maintain control in case of observing deviations and take preventive and concrete actions that ensure maintaining the system as agreed in the environmental commitments. We are committed to making this information public as a means of verification regarding compliance with the extraction obligations, based on the established operational rules and with the aim of ensuring the sustainability of the Salar de Atacama ”.

 

What will you find on the page?

Through the page, online information will be published daily on the amount of brine extracted in accordance with the limits approved by the environmental entity. Information represented in daily and accumulated indicators of the controls of the established operational rule.

The site also shows indicators on the extraction of water from each well with environmental authorization in the form of average daily flow, specifying the current limit for each one. The information is based on the volume extracted from each well, which is recorded every one minute. Additionally, SQM has incorporated information on historical levels and, since March 2020, continuous levels according to the latest online monitoring resolution of the General Water Directorate (DGA).

The platform has state-of-the-art technology to report the daily extraction of water and the phreatic levels of each of the five wells with rights approved by the environmental authority.

Regarding environmental control and monitoring, SQM acts based on a robust environmental management system, which aims to verify that environmental variables evolve according to what was projected and aiming at the care of sensitive systems. For this, biotic variables and at least 225 hydrogeological monitoring points are monitored, and they continuously provide information on: water table levels, surface levels and flows, lagoon area, physicochemical parameters, among others.

Additionally, for a better understanding of our operation in the Salar and the importance of constant environmental monitoring in the area, a special section has been arranged that shows the conceptual model of the Salar, explaining in detail the hydrological cycle and the monitoring areas along with the variables monitored in each one of them.

SQM is a relevant actor in the sustainable development of the world with high participation in key industries for human development. Along these lines, the company is committed to a responsible and sustainable operation, minimizing its emissions, its use of water and contributing to caring for the environment. In this way, it seeks to minimize its direct impact on flora and fauna, working together with communities to support the care and protection of ecosystems.

To learn more about this new platform, go to: https://www.sqmsenlinea.com/

SQM Lithium Separator