Company: SQM
Filing Date: 2025-04-24
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000909037-25-000020
Chunk: 8

Company: CHEMICAL & MINING CO OF CHILE INC
Filing Date: 2025-04-24
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 3
Chunk 8
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 technologies, which have the potential to significantly increase the supply of lithium from brine projects and reduce their cost of production. While we continue to make significant investment in research and development of the lithium extraction process, we cannot assure you that our product research and development projects will be successful or be completed within the anticipated time frame or budget. In addition, we cannot assure you that our existing or potential competitors will not develop products which are similar or superior to our products or are more competitively priced. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that advances in technology will occur in a timely or feasible way, if at all, that others will not acquire similar or superior technologies sooner than we do, or that we will acquire technologies on an exclusive basis or at a significant price advantage. The process of designing and developing new technology, products and services is costly and uncertain and requires extensive capital investment. If our lithium products are not competitively priced, demand for our lithium products could be reduced and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Chemical and physical properties of our products could adversely affect their commercialization.
Since our products are derived from natural resources, they contain inorganic impurities that may not meet certain customer or government standards. As a result, we may not be able to sell our products if we cannot meet such requirements. In addition, our cost of production may increase in order to meet such standards. Failure to meet such standards could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations if we are unable to sell our products in one or more markets or to important customers in such markets.
Changes in technology or other developments could result in preferences for substitute products.
Our products, particularly lithium, iodine and their derivatives, are preferred raw materials for certain industrial applications, such as rechargeable batteries and liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). Changes in technology, the development of substitute products or other developments could adversely affect demand for these and other products which we produce. In addition, other alternatives to our products may become more economically attractive as global commodity prices shift. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are exposed to labor strikes, work stoppages and labor liabilities that could impact our production levels and costs.
We are exposed to labor strikes and labor liabilities that could impact our production levels and costs. Approximately 87% of our employees are employed in Chile, of which approximately 77% were represented by 22 labor unions as of December 31, 2024. In