Size: 18,200 Hectares
Current Capacity: 44,000 metric tons
Lithium Extraction Work’s La Negra Extraction Plant is located in northern Chile, near the city of Antofagasta.
We began operations in this location with a lithium carbonate and lithium chloride plant, with later investments allowing us to establish a solvent extraction plant. Alongside these plants at La Negra, we have also established a chemical laboratory together with a facility for research and development on site.
At the La Negra Extraction Plant, brine is processed and exposed to chemicals. This allows us to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate, used in a range of electronic devices and products. The extraction plant has a capacity of 44,000 tons per year, and we are currently further expanding this capacity through infrastructure developments to increase production.
With lithium carbonate used in a variety of industries and products, from electronics to ceramics, we foresee demand continuing to increase globally. It is also used, significantly, to create lithium-ion batteries, and we have seen demand for these batteries increase exponentially in recent times due to the rise of electric cars, smartphones and a general upward trend for technology products.