Santiago-Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) reported injuries to personnel at its operations due to the earthquake – which measured 7.7 on the Richter magnitude scale – that occurred in northern Chile Nov. 14. Operations were suspended due to the lack of electricity from the Northern Power Grid and the need to perform safety checks on the equipment. The electric supply was reestablished early Nov. 15. Upon preliminary inspection, SQM said no significant structural damages were detected at the productive plants. The railway system connecting María Elena to Tocopilla suffered damage at specific points, which were expected to be repaired in the short term. At the Salar de Atacama, operations were partially restarted Nov. 14 using an auxiliary electricity supply. Likewise, operations were restarted at the lithium carbonate plant in the Salar del Carmen, near Antofagasta. SQM planned to gradually restart operations at the other facilities Nov. 15. According to SQM, considerable damage occurred to a great number of houses, as well as to the hospital in the town of María Elena. SQM has already begun the necessary work to enable the town of María Elena to return to normal as soon as possible. SQM expects to have a definitive evaluation next week. A second quake occurred in northern Chile on Nov. 15 and measured 6.2 on the Richter scale, but there was no word on its impact on SQM.
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