Company: SQM
Filing Date: 2025-04-24
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000909037-25-000020
Chunk: 28

Company: CHEMICAL & MINING CO OF CHILE INC
Filing Date: 2025-04-24
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 3
Chunk 28
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 risks related to our relationships and/or agreements with local communities and laws on the rights of indigenous peoples. 
Our operations and projects are subject to risks related to our relationships and/or agreements with local communities and laws on the rights of indigenous peoples. Our relationships with the communities that are located near our operations are essential to the success of our existing operations, exploration activities and the development of our production facilities. A failure to manage relationships with such local communities may lead to local dissatisfaction which, in turn, may lead to interruptions to our operations, exploration activities and development activities. 
The Atacameño Peoples Council (Consejo de Pueblos Atacameños), which represents 18 Atacameño indigenous communities, advocates for the rights, traditions, and interests of the Atacameño people, including land use, environmental protection, and economic development in the Atacama region of Chile. On December 15, 2023, we signed an agreement with Codelco and the Atacameños Indigenous Organization to include the Atacameños Indigenous Organization in discussions regarding extending lithium extraction in the Salar de Atacama beyond 2030 through an association agreement with Codelco. However, in January 2024, a disagreement within the Atacameños Peoples Council led to a blockade of the main roads to our Salar de Atacama facilities for four days by a splinter group to express their dissent towards the non-binding Memorandum of Understanding we signed with Codelco for the operation and development of lithium extraction in the Salar de Atacama from 2025 to 2060. The blockade resulted in a shutdown of operations at our Salar de Atacama facilities for one day and was quickly resolved. However, there can be no assurance that other disruptions of our operations in the Salar de Atacama or elsewhere by members of the local communities near our operations may not occur again in the future.
Our lease agreement with Corfo, which grants us exclusive rights to exploit mineral resources in the Salar de Atacama until 2030, includes a commitment to invest between US$10 million and US$15 million annually in sustainable development projects for the Atacama La Grande indigenous communities through organizations promoting local development. We are dedicated to maintaining open, constructive dialogues with the local communities, primarily via roundtable discussions. 
Disputes with the local communities that live near the Salar de Atacama may in the future interfere with our operations and/or result in additional operating costs or