SQM briefly suspends production at its Atacama operations after protests block key roads close to the site.

SQM, the largest producer of lithium compounds in 2023, suspended production at the Salar de Atacama operations in response to blockades of key roads leading to the operations by protestors. Road blockades largely disrupted access to the site for workers and for the delivery and transport of reagents and products. The protests were in response to an agreement signed between SQM and the Chilean state-owned mining company Codelco in December 2023, which will see the two companies co-operatively extract and process lithium brines from the Salar de Atacama beyond December 2024. Protesters were unhappy with the lack of involvement given to indigenous populations in the agreement signed between the two companies. The cooperative agreement would also see SQM assigned an increased lithium extraction quota, with the limit placed on brine extraction at the Atacama site being raised by an additional 300kt LCE between 2024 and 2030. 

It was initially unclear how long the suspension would extend but after a short stoppage the suspension was quickly lifted on the 15^th of January and operations at Salar de Atacama were restored to normal. As expected, the impact on SQM’s production was minimal, with no changes to Project Blue’s production forecast for 2024 being required as a result of the suspension. We continue to forecast a year-on-year increase in production from the Atacama facility. In 2024, SQM is forecast to remain the largest producer of lithium compounds, with output from the Salar de Atacama exceeding 200kt LCE contained in lithium carbonate, hydroxide and sulphate products.