News
11/02/26
Chile miners' backlash risks Atacama protection plan
Sao Paulo, 11 February (Argus) — At least five mining institutions have filed
official complaints about outgoing Chilean president Gabriel Boric's push to
create a new protective reserve for salt flats in the Atacama basin, home to
most of the country's lithium reserves. Boric, a leftist, is seeking to
designate as many salt flats as protected reserves as possible before his term
ends on 11 March and far-right Jose Antonio Kast is sworn in as president. The
proposed reserve, called ACMU Soncor, is part of Chile's national lithium
strategy, a broad regulatory framework introduced in 2023 to oversee the
country's lithium extraction industry. Kast has already signaled his intention
to overhaul the strategy, favoring a more open, pro-market approach that would
likely scale back environmental protection. Boric's salt flats' protection
reserves have largely focused on isolated areas or regions where mining has a
limited presence, but Soncor would protect 76,138 hectares in the Atacama basin,
where Chile's only two active lithium projects operate alongside potassium and
borates reserves. Miners Albemarle and Codelco, Chile's national mining
association Sonami, and Grupo Errazuriz firms NX, a potassium chloride producer,
and SCM Copiapó, a company that develops and operates mining-support projects,
have all objected to Soncor's creation, court records show. Companies push back
Each company raised its own concerns with the proposal, but all five shared
complaints about methodology and a alleged lack of transparency around Soncor's
creation. They collectively argue the reserve's boundaries were set arbitrarily,
without technical justification, and note the environment ministry has yet to
release the studies supporting the proposed protected area. The firms also
criticized timing and process, noting that the proposal's public consultation
stage was scheduled over Christmas and New Year, when participation typically
falls. Also, the companies were initially given 23 business days to respond,
which they say should have been 60. Albemarle says some "crucial documents" were
made available only two days before the initial deadline, later extended to 5
February. All five also say the "objects of protection" — the species and
ecosystems the government intends to safeguard — are vaguely defined. Albemarle
would be most affected. The lithium producer argues the reserve would extend
over its operations, including areas containing mineral and water resources it
is legally entitled to use and develop. It also says the government is
overlooking a binding agreement with Chile's first environmental court that sets
governance frameworks to mitigate impacts and should avoid the need for a new
reserve within areas where Albemarle holds rights. Albemarle warns that imposing
"absolute protection" without technical basis over brine resources could create
unjustified restrictions with significant impacts on Chile's lithium production
capacity. At the same time, the company is asking the government to explicitly
state that, if the reserve's boundaries remain unchanged, Albemarle's operations
would be allowed to continue unaffected and be deemed compliant. NX's 200,000
metric tonnes (t)/yr potassium salts plant would also be included in the the
reserve, it says. Codelco could also be affected from 2031, when it takes
control of SQM's lithium asset in the Atacama basin. Both Codelco and Albemarle
are requesting that the reserve area be reduced, with Albemarle also asking for
the process to be suspended until it complies with Chilean law. NX and SCM
Copiapó asked to void the current consultation and open a new one meeting
minimum standards. Sonami requests clearer technical criteria, followed by a new
public consultation process. Delays imminent The backlash could translate into
delays Boric's administration cannot afford since it has fewer than 30 business
days left in its term. After the consultation closes, the environment ministry
must publish the supporting technical background and a formal response to the
miners' submissions, then issue a final decision. The push-back does not
automatically stop the reserve's creation, but it could delay it until after 11
March, especially if the public consultation process is restarted. If Soncor is
not officially created by the time Kast takes office, the likelihood for it not
being created rises, especially since it could affect the mining sector, which
should be a priority in Kast's economic agenda. This situation does not affect
any salt flat protection area that has already been created, just the one in the
Atacama, Chile's largest and most prominent — both economically and for tourism
— salt flat. By Pedro Consoli Send comments and request more information at
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