Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (SQM) said June 2 that it has decided to increase its total potassium nitrate production capacity by 500,000 mt/y to 1.5 million mt/y.
To gain the 500,000 mt/y, SQM plans a new 300,000 mt/y plant as well as upgrades at existing facilities to add the additional 200,000 mt/y. SQM said the upgrades will result in 100,000 mt/y in 2016 and 100,000 mt/y in 2017. The new plant is expected up in mid-2018. SQM said it will determine the cost of the new plant during the third quarter.