SANTIAGO - Chilean miner SQM, a major producer of lithium, projects it will need $1.5-billion to execute a plan to cut its extraction of brine in half by 2030, the company said in a statement Wednesday.
In 2020, SQM committed to a 50% reduction in the brine it pumps to mine lithium in the vast Atacama salt flat in northern Chilean.
In a statement, the mining company explained that its Salar Futuro plan will modernize its process of evaporation and brine extraction, improve operating yields and adopt the use of seawater via a desalination plant.
"In a first analysis, it is estimated that investments will be close to $1.5-billion," the firm said.
Authorities have conducted multiple investigations into SQM's brine usage, leading the company to propose a plan to reduce its impact.
The company said a planned desalination plant will provide water with high-saline concentration for its nitrate and iodine plants as well as water to replace freshwater lost through evaporation during the production process.
This will lead to a "totally neutral long-term water balance" and bring its net freshwater usage "to zero".
Despite its reduced brine use, SQM projects an annual production of lithium carbonate equivalent of between 220 000 t and 250 000 t.
The Salar de Atacama is home to almost a quarter of the world's current supply of lithium, a key ingredient in the batteries that power electric vehicles.