Santiago-Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) said Feb. 23 that it has suspended operations at its El Toco and Pampa Blanca mining facilities. The decision is in response to decreased global demand for nitrates and iodine. Lower sales volumes over the past 15 months have translated into increased inventories. “The year 2010 will be a transition year in terms of volumes for specialty fertilizers and iodine,” said SQM CEO Patricio Contesse. “We project that sales volumes will increase compared to 2009, reaching, by the end of 2010, growth rates similar to those observed during the beginning of 2008. We believe these higher growth rates will mean continued and consistent volume recovery in the future years.” He said SQM’s installed capacity and available inventory will allow it to respond quickly and efficiently in the event that demand recovers at faster rates than originally projected. As a result of the suspensions, SQM nitrate production for the year 2010 should decline slightly compared to 2009. Sodium nitrate production will decline as a result of the El Toco suspension and will be partially offset by the operations of the new potassium nitrate facility in Coya Sur, scheduled to begin operating during the second half of 2010. This plant, with state-of-the-art technology, will process nitrate salts from mining operations, with production costs estimated to be significantly lower than current costs. SQM expects 2010 iodine volumes to be similar to 2008, and 2010 production to fall about 20 percent compared to 2009. As for expansion plans for Salar de Atacama, Contesse said the projects have moved forward according to plans. SQM expects potassium chloride production this year to be slightly higher than 1.4 million mt, compared to about 1.1 million mt (potassium chloride and potassium sulfate) produced in 2009. Contesse said future investment plans are in line with this trend, and total production should reach 1.8 million mt during 2012.
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