The Salar de Maricunga is located approximately 170 km northeast of Copiapo in the Region III Atacama in northern Chile at an elevation of 3,800 meters above sea level.
The Salar can be reached year-round in about three hours by car via National Road No. 31 which connects Chile with Argentina. The nearest airport is located in Caldera (Desierto de Atacama ) and offers daily flights to Santiago de Chile. The flight time from Caldera to the Salar de Maricunga is about 25 minutes by plane. The Maricunga Project is accessed by a series of roads, additional to National Highway 31. These roads allows the transportation of heavy equipment to construct and supply the operations all time in the year.
The Maricunga Project
"A world class deposit"
2nd highest Lithium grade in the World
Already proven quantities of 389,000 tons of LCE
at the Salar de Maricunga
Second highest Lithium content in the World
The brine at Maricunga has an average Lithium content of 1.100 mg/l, second highest grade in the World after Salar de Atacama
The Salar
Salar de Maricunga is a dried up lake (so-called salt pan) with a complex subsurface hydrology and an enrichment of various elements, including Lithium
Proven Resources at the Salar de Maricunga
In a neighboring project, Lithium quantities of 389,000 tons are reported, this results in approx. 15,000 tons of Lithium carbonate per year or the Lithium carbonate requirement for approx. 450,000 electric cars
Initial Operating Capability in 2027
Efficient planning and the use of state-of-the-art Direct Lithium Extraction technology will drastically shorten the time until the start of the first production. By the end of 2027, the first lithium carbonate from the Salar de Maricunga will electrify cars all over the world.