Salar de Atacama lithium extraction
- Standard-setters and registries IRMA: Rated Albemarle's Atacama site IRMA 50 after an assessment from September 2021 to April 2022. Mining Technology
- Company or project Albemarle: Said the site met 70% of more than 400 requirements. Mining Technology
- Government and regulators SMA (Chile's environmental regulator): Found brine extraction above the permitted limit, average 452.3 litres per second, October 2019 to September 2020, and non-compliance with the early-warning plan. El Desconcierto
- Courts First Environmental Court: Upheld the SMA penalty of 4,713 UTA on 30 September 2026 (as reported by El Desconcierto). El Desconcierto
- Researchers Universidad de Chile (as reported by BioBioChile): The south-western part of the salt flat sank 1–2 cm a year in 2020–2023; groundwater fell by more than 10 metres in 15 years. BioBioChile
- Communities and civil society CPA, representing 18 communities: Filed a complaint over the sinking of the salt flat. Mongabay Latam
- Communities and civil society Atacameño Peoples' Council: Questioned the Codelco–SQM alliance and objected to water extraction until 2060. Cooperativa
- Communities and civil society Indigenous groups: Withdrew from dialogue with Codelco and SQM over lithium in April 2024, fearing water scarcity. El Desconcierto
Albemarle and SQM extract lithium brine from the Salar de Atacama in Chile; SQM and the state company Codelco have formed a joint company to operate there to 2060. Albemarle's site received a responsible-mining rating and, separately, a regulator's penalty for brine extraction above its limit, which a court upheld in September 2026.
About CLP 4,056 million, as stated in the sources; upheld by the First Environmental Court on 30 September 2026.
Status As of 30 September 2026: the First Environmental Court upheld the SMA's penalty on Albemarle; the Codelco–SQM joint company created in December 2025 is to operate Atacama lithium extraction until 2060.
- Albemarle — Reported 2022 net income of about $2.69 billion (company-wide). Kitco
- SQM — Reported 2022 net income of $3.906 billion, up 567% (company-wide). Kitco
- Codelco (state) — Holds 50% plus one share of Nova Andino Litio, created in December 2025. El Mostrador (EFE)
- Chilean state — Collected more than $7.3 billion in lithium revenue in 2012–2023, according to NRGI. Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI)
- ERM CVS — Audited Albemarle and SQM for IRMA; audit fees are paid by the mining companies (amounts not given in the record). Investigate Europe
- Atacameño communities — The CPA, representing 18 communities, filed a complaint over subsidence; groups withdrew from dialogue over water scarcity. Mongabay Latam
- Salar de Atacama — South-western part sank 1–2 cm a year in 2020–2023; groundwater fell by more than 10 metres in 15 years (Universidad de Chile, as reported by BioBioChile). BioBioChile
What happened
The Salar de Atacama in northern Chile hosts lithium brine operations of Albemarle and SQM. In December 2025 the state copper company Codelco and SQM created a joint company, Nova Andino Litio, in which the state holds 50% plus one share. The joint company is to operate Atacama lithium extraction until 2060.
Albemarle's Atacama site was assessed under the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) between September 2021 and April 2022 and received IRMA 50. The auditor was ERM CVS. Albemarle said it met 70% of more than 400 requirements. SQM received IRMA 75, also audited by ERM CVS. Investigate Europe reported in November 2023 that mining companies pay the audit fees, that ERM CVS is one of two approved auditors and is owned by the private-equity firm KKR, that four audits had been completed against 5,097 transition-mineral projects, and that the SQM audit interviewed eight people from four communities.
Chile's environmental regulator, the SMA, found that brine extraction at Albemarle's site exceeded the permitted limit, at an average of 452.3 litres per second, between October 2019 and September 2020, and that an early-warning plan was not followed. It imposed a penalty of 4,713 UTA, about CLP 4,056 million. El Desconcierto reported that the First Environmental Court upheld the penalty on 30 September 2026.
Universidad de Chile researchers, as reported by BioBioChile in August 2024, found that the south-western part of the salt flat sank 1–2 cm a year in 2020–2023 and that groundwater fell by more than 10 metres in 15 years. The CPA, representing 18 communities, filed a complaint. In April 2024 indigenous groups withdrew from a dialogue with Codelco and SQM over lithium, fearing water scarcity, and the Atacameño Peoples' Council objected to water extraction until 2060.
For 2022, SQM reported net income of $3.906 billion, up 567%, and Albemarle about $2.69 billion. The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) reported that the Chilean state collected more than $7.3 billion in lithium revenue in 2012–2023.
- 2019October: start of the period in which the SMA found brine extraction above the permitted limit (to September 2020)
- 2021September: IRMA assessment of Albemarle's Atacama site begins (to April 2022); the site receives IRMA 50
- 2022SQM reports net income of $3.906 billion (+567%); Albemarle about $2.69 billion
- 2023June: Mining Technology reports Albemarle's IRMA 50; November: Investigate Europe reports on the IRMA audits; December: Atacameño Peoples' Council questions the Codelco–SQM alliance
- 2024April: indigenous groups withdraw from dialogue with Codelco and SQM; August: Universidad de Chile subsidence findings reported; November: CPA complaint over subsidence reported
- 2025December: Codelco and SQM create Nova Andino Litio, with extraction to 2060
- 202630 September: First Environmental Court upholds the SMA penalty on Albemarle
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Rated Albemarle's Atacama site IRMA 50 after an assessment from September 2021 to April 2022.
Mining TechnologyFound brine extraction above the permitted limit, average 452.3 litres per second, October 2019 to September 2020, and non-compliance with the early-warning plan.
El DesconciertoUpheld the SMA penalty of 4,713 UTA on 30 September 2026 (as reported by El Desconcierto).
El DesconciertoThe south-western part of the salt flat sank 1–2 cm a year in 2020–2023; groundwater fell by more than 10 metres in 15 years.
BioBioChileFiled a complaint over the sinking of the salt flat.
Mongabay LatamQuestioned the Codelco–SQM alliance and objected to water extraction until 2060.
CooperativaWithdrew from dialogue with Codelco and SQM over lithium in April 2024, fearing water scarcity.
El DesconciertoMining companies pay the audit fees; one of the two approved auditors, ERM CVS, is owned by KKR; four audits had been completed against 5,097 transition-mineral projects.
Investigate EuropeThe report records interviews with eight people from four communities.
Investigate EuropeHow it looked
Shown
- IRMA 50 rating for Albemarle's Atacama site, assessed September 2021 to April 2022 with ERM CVS as auditorIRMA, as reported by Mining Technology · Mining Technology
- IRMA 75 rating for SQM's Atacama operationsIRMA, as reported by Investigate Europe · Investigate Europe
Recorded
- Brine extraction above the permitted limit, average 452.3 litres per second, October 2019 to September 2020; early-warning plan not followed; penalty of 4,713 UTA upheld on 30 September 2026.
- The south-western part of the salt flat sank 1–2 cm a year in 2020–2023; groundwater fell by more than 10 metres in 15 years.
- The SQM audit interviewed eight people from four communities; audit fees are paid by the mining companies.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- Albemarle (June 2023): Said its Atacama site met 70% of more than 400 IRMA requirements. · Mining Technology
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2026-09-30Claimant wonUTA 4.71bn 4,713 UTA (about CLP 4,056 million)SMA penalty on Albemarle for brine extraction above the permitted limitFirst Environmental Court (Chile) · Administrative · Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente (SMA) → Albemarle
The SMA found brine extraction above the permitted limit, average 452.3 litres per second, from October 2019 to September 2020, and failure to follow an early-warning plan. The court upheld the penalty on 30 September 2026, as reported by El Desconcierto. El Desconcierto
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
- Disputed Is a site rated under a responsible-mining standard consistent with the regulator's findings on brine extraction?
- Disputed Is lithium extraction affecting the salt flat and its water?
Figures
- Insufficient Brine extraction over limit l s: SMA finding for October 2019 to September 2020;, the El Desconcierto page returned HTTP 403.
- Insufficient Fines: About CLP 4,056 million; amount confirmed in reports of Reporte Minero and La Tercera.
- Insufficient Subsidence cm per year: South-western part of the salt flat, 2020–2023; Universidad de Chile as reported by BioBioChile.
- Insufficient Groundwater decline m: Over 15 years; same study.
- Insufficient State lithium revenue: Chilean state lithium revenue 2012–2023, NRGI.
Accounts
- Disputed How independent is the certification of the sites?
Record
- None on record The El Desconcierto page reporting the court's confirmation of the penalty returned an error (HTTP 403) to the researchers; the amount was checked against reports of Reporte Minero and La Tercera, not full articles.
- None on record The subsidence and groundwater figures, the NRGI revenue figures and the penalty amount rest on secondary summaries rather than the original documents.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a study found two flamingo species at the lithium site declined 10–12% over 11 years while numbers stayed steady on non-mining salt flats, and SQM objected (Mining.com/Reuters, 2022).
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Atacama indigenous communities sued SQM for drawing water without authorisation.
- Insufficient The outcome of Tianqi's Supreme Court challenge to the Codelco–SQM partnership: not verified.
Did the harm stop?
Extraction continues: the Codelco–SQM joint company created in December 2025 is to operate Atacama lithium extraction until 2060.
Who paid?
The record shows one payment tied to the findings: Albemarle's penalty of 4,713 UTA, upheld on 30 September 2026.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Justicia confirma multa millonaria contra minera de litio por sobreextracción en el Salar de AtacamaEl Desconcierto · 2026-09-30
- Albemarle IRMA Salar de AtacamaMining Technology · 2023-06
- Greenwashing fears: mining audit industryInvestigate Europe · 2023-11-17
- Descubren que salar de Atacama se hunde hasta 2 cm al año por extracción de salmueraBioBioChile · 2024-08-24
- Comunidades indígenas interponen denuncia por hundimiento de salar de Atacama por litio (Chile)Mongabay Latam · 2024-11
- Temen escasez de agua: grupos indígenas se restan de diálogo con Codelco y SQM por litioEl Desconcierto · 2024-04-18
- Litio: Consejo de Pueblos Atacameños cuestionó alianza Codelco-SQMCooperativa · 2023-12-28
- Codelco and SQM launch lithium joint venture NovaAndino LitioMining Reporters · 2025-12
- Codelco y SQM crean compañía conjunta para explotar litio en Salar de AtacamaEl Mostrador (EFE) · 2025-12-27
- Codelco and SQM agree on final lithium dealMining.com · 2024
- Chilean lithium giant SQM boosts net income 567% to $3.9B in 2022Kitco · 2023-03-02
Communities and civil society
- Ingresos fiscales por litio en ChileNatural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) · 2024-05
Connected cases
- Codelco and SQM launch Atacama lithium venture extending output to 2060 Chile · 2023–2025
- SQM (Company) — here: Lithium operator in the Salar de Atacama; partner of Codelco; there: joint-venture partner
- Codelco (Company) — here: State copper company; majority partner in Nova Andino Litio; there: joint-venture partner
- NovaAndino Litio (Company) — here: Codelco–SQM joint company, extraction to 2060; there: joint-venture company
- Atacameño Peoples' Council (Association) — here: Council of Atacameño peoples; objected to extraction until 2060; there: community council that objected
- Chile's secret copper law sent 10% of export revenue to the armed forces Chile · 1958–2019
- Codelco (Company) — here: State copper company; majority partner in Nova Andino Litio; there: State copper company named in the matter
- Harita Nickel, Kawasi chromium-6 water and sago loss (Obi Island) Indonesia · 2012–2026
- Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) (Standard-setter) — here: Standard-setter that rated the Albemarle and SQM sites; there: Auditor/standard-setter of the responsible mining audit
- IMIP nickel waste landslides and Obi island (Indonesia) Indonesia · 2020–2026
- Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) (Standard-setter) — here: Standard-setter that rated the Albemarle and SQM sites; there: Mining assurance standard-setter; audit of Harita Nickel
- Mozambique LNG environmental assessment (ERM) Mozambique · 2014–2024
- KKR (Asset manager) — here: Owner of ERM CVS; there: Private equity owner of about 60% of ERM