Company: SQM
Filing Date: 2025-04-24
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000909037-25-000020
Chunk: 85

Company: CHEMICAL & MINING CO OF CHILE INC
Filing Date: 2025-04-24
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 4
Chunk 85
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 contribute annually to the MRF. Closure cost liability estimates are also a component of closure planning and are required for inclusion in the financial reporting of Australian companies as per the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) 137 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets.
Groundwater exploration and abstraction is regulated under the Rights in Water Irrigation Act 1914 (Western Australia), administered by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. The regulation requires specific license applications to assess environmental impacts including consideration of other users, sustainability of aquifers and groundwater dependent ecosystems. Purchase of water from existing water networks and infrastructure is governed by the Water Corporation under the Water Corporation Act 1995 (Western Australia), which applies to the Mt Holland mine site and Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Plant.
The National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) is tracking pollution across Australia and ensures that the community has access to information about the emission and transfer of toxic substances which may affect them locally. There has been increasing community demand to know about toxic substances emitted to the local environment. Australian, state and territory governments have agreed to legislation called NEPM, which helps protect or manage particular aspects of the environment. Australian industries are required to monitor, measure and report their emissions under this legislation.
Mining companies in Australia are subject to the National Environmental Protection (National Pollutant Inventory) Measure 1998 as part of their environmental management obligations. This framework requires mining companies to track and report pollutant emissions on an annual basis and manage their environmental impacts in line with national standards.
Climate Change
In Australia, there are a range of climate change laws and regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) promoting energy efficiency, and encouraging the use of renewable energy in the mining sector.  The National Greenhouse Emissions Reporting (NGER) Scheme, managed by the Clean Energy Regulator and governed by the NGER Act 2007, requires mining companies to report their GHG, energy consumption, and production data annually. Mining companies must submit detailed annual reports on their energy usage and emissions (scope 1 and 2), which are used to track national emissions and to assess the effectiveness of Australia’s climate change laws.
The Safeguard Mechanism (established under the Clean Energy Act 2011 (Cth)) applies to large emitters (i.e., facilities that emit more than a baseline of 100,000 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent per year). Large emitters are required to keep their emissions below the baseline. If they exceed their