Albemarle is one of the largest lithium producers in the world, with a presence in Chile for more than 42 years, being, together with Corfo, pioneers in the development of this industry in the country. In this sense, its participation as a sponsor in the largest mining fair in Latin America, Expomin, is relevant, a space where the company will explain its plans and strategic axes for the coming years, which seek to move towards a fair energy transition and promote the sustainable development of its operations.

“We are moving forward in the development of a New Lithium Era, taking concrete steps to evolve the way we do things: In the search for new sources of water, in collaborating with others to make the access of desalinated seawater to the Atacama salt basin viable and in the application of new forms of lithium production with direct extraction technologies”, said Ignacio Mehech, country manager for Chile and VP of External Affairs LATAM of Albemarle, and added that “it is an honor to participate again in Expomin, a space that has been key for us and that has allowed us to collaborate with important actors in the sector for the development of a more sustainable mining in Chile”.

Albemarle will be present at the panel “Presentation of Lithium – Gold and Other Projects” on Wednesday, April 26th. Also, thanks to the company’s collaboration with Radio Madero, they will have a special participation during the event, through a program in which they will analyze various topics related to the major industry trends and where they will interview Expomin participants.

New era of lithium

To contribute to long-term sustainability, in February 2023, thanks to an alliance with ENGIE, Albemarle began connecting the Salar plant to the National Electricity System, which will allow it to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions through the use of renewable energies.

They also signed an agreement with CRAMSA to make available up to 500 liters per second of desalinated seawater starting in 2027. This supply will enable the implementation of new direct lithium extraction methods through the use of innovative technologies.

In June 2022, Albemarle inaugurated a new chemical conversion plant, La Negra III, which, with an investment of over US$ 500 million, gives them the capacity to double lithium production to 85,000 tons by 2024. This year, they will inaugurate the lithium recovery initiative at the Salar Plant, with an investment of US$150 million, which, thanks to a pioneering technology developed especially for Albemarle, will increase the lithium recovery rate by reprocessing salts such as carnallite and bischofite.