Salar De Atacama K2o

Plant in Atacama, Chile with commodities Boron-Borates, Lithium, Potassium
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Nearby scientific data
  7. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  8. Mining district
  9. Mineral rights holdings
  10. Land status
  11. Ownership information
  12. Workings at the site
  13. Links to other databases
  14. Bibliographic references
  15. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10279731
MAS/MILS ID 3370090045
Record type Site
Current site name Salar De Atacama K2o
Alternate or previous names Minsal ?

Comments on the site names

  • POSSIBLE ALTERNATE NAME MIGHT BE "MINSAL"

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Ore Body
Geographic coordinates: -68.24949, -23.49752 (WGS84)
Elevation 2300
Location accuracy 5000(meters)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Atacama(province)

Chile(country)

South America(continent)

Land(continent)

Federal lands

Federal(land status)

Geographic areas

Country State
Chile Atacama

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Boron-Borates Primary
Lithium Critical Tertiary
Potassium Primary

Nearby scientific data

Ore Body (1) -68.24949, -23.49752

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Plant
Commodity type Both
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1969
Mining method Strip-Level
Year of first production 1988
Plant type Beneficiation (Mill)
Plant subcategory Crystallization
Milling method Crystallization

Mining district

District name Salar

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Minerals Only

Land status

Ownership category Federal

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Sociedad Quimica Y Minera De Chile (Soquimich)
    Interest 100
    Home office Chile
    Year 1994
    First year 1994
    Last year 1994

Comments on the ownership information

  • CORFO IS A CHILEAN GOVERNMENT AGENCY.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • THIS INSITU RESERVE ESTIMATE WAS BASED ON DATA SUPPLIED BY THE CONTRACTOR. RESERVE UNITS ARE IN TERMS OF "MT OF BRINE". ACCORDING TO THE CONTRACTORS DATA, THE SOLUTIONS SPECIFIC GRAVITY IS 1.226 GR/ML. USING THIS FACTOR THE RESERVE ESTIMATE WOULD EQUAL APPROXIMATELY 1.7 X 10E12 LITERS OF BRINE SOLUTION. THE RESERVE ESTIMATE IN MATRIX 1 COLUMN 1, WAS USED IN THE 1984 PROPERTIES ECONOMIC EVALUATION. ACTUAL ATACAMA BRINE ANALYSIS, IN G/L IS; CHLORIDE-195.1; SODIUM-97.14; POTASSIUM-22.5; SUPHATE- 21.78; MAGNESIUM-11.4; LITHIUM-1.76; BORON-0.785. RECOVERY OF THE INSITU RESEERVES ESTIMATE IS ABOUT 56%

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Area 350.5HA
    Field Value
    MAS Development Schedule # 1
    Mining Record # 1
    Status of Mining Method PROPOSED
    Mining Method STRIP-LEVEL
    Avg. Overburden Thickness 0
    Primary Material Cover SAND, GRAVEL
    Percentage 100
    Avg. Bench Height (meters) 0
    Max. Pit Slope (degrees) 0
    Capacity 82145
    Capacity Units MT ORE/DAY
    Preprod. Stripping Vol. 0
    Operating Days per Year 365
    Operating Shifts per Day 3
    Year of Information 1982

Comments on other economic factors

  • UNIT OF CAPACITY FOR K1 RECORD IS IN TERMS OF "MT BRINE/DAY" THESE UNITS WERE USED BY THE CONTRACTOR. NO CONVERSION FACTOR WAS GIVEN TO CONVERT THE UNITS TO "LITERS OF SOLUTION PER MINUTE". PLANT CAPACITIES FOR RECORDS K2-K4 ARE UNKNOWN. OUTPUT CAPACITIES ARE UNDER THE PRODUCT DATA SET. RECORD K2 IS THE POTASSIUM CHLORIDE PLANT: RECORD K3 IS THE POTASSIUM SULPHATE PLANT: RECORD K4 IS BORIC ACID PLANT.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    MINING JOURNAL, MINING WEEK, "MINSAL POSASH DEVELOPMENT

  • Deposit

    IMMINENT", MAY 6, 1994, PAGE 326.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 23-SEP-96 Buckingham, David A. U.S. Bureau of Mines

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.