How Chilean boric acid maker Quiborax plans to produce lithium from industrial waste

As Chile’s national lithium strategy advances, firms like boric acid producer Quiborax are developing plans to recover the soft white metal from industrial waste.

The approach is environmentally more sustainable and demands less time than traditional brine projects, for which definitions regarding private participation are still lacking.

In December, Quiborax – the world's third largest boric acid producer – received experimental authorization from nuclear energy commission CCHEN to advance tests to determine the best option for direct extraction and other technologies.

To learn more about this initiative in Arica y Parinacota region, BNamericas spoke with the company’s legal director, Daniel Ocqueteau.

BNamericas: What’s the project’s annual production capacity and investment?

Ocqueteau: We’ll invest close to US$70mn and the useful life of the project will be about 11 years at a production rate of 2,000t of lithium carbonate per year. It is smaller than large industrial lithium projects, but has many benefits, since it doesn't involve a salt flat and there's no impact on indigenous communities because it is done in an industrial plant that has sectoral – health and environmental – authorizations.

Furthermore, the project is based on the circular economy since we will obtain a useful mineral from residuals and leached waste that are otherwise no longer useful.

BNamericas: What's the experimental authorization you obtained from CCHEN about?

Ocqueteau: The authorization is a key milestone for any lithium project, especially for ours, which has the particularity of recovering lithium from the leached waste that we have accumulated during 30 years of boric acid production, which are quite relevant quantities to recover lithium.

The authorization enables us to carry out processing tests and piloting since that body has the power to authorize any act or contract in relation to lithium, especially since 1979, when lithium was decreed state property.

At the moment, we're trying to identify the best technological development to obtain or recover lithium through a direct extraction process, which is one principle of the national lithium strategy.

BNamericas: Are you piloting direct lithium extraction, or DLE, technologies?

Ocqueteau: We have been analyzing many methods after obtaining authorization from CCHEN to carry out the processing tests, and we're in conversation with some foreign companies whose DLE technologies are more advanced, such as those in Argentina.

BNamericas: Why has Quiborax only now started to extract lithium from the accumulated material?

Ocqueteau: Simply because we didn't know how to do it as the technologies to undertake this innovative project didn't exist. The boric acid industry is a very specific one that advances along its path by taking steps every day, and it was only a few years ago that we managed to automate the process, thanks to the advancement of research and development.

BNamericas: What else is needed to advance in the experimental stage and process lithium?

Ocqueteau: The advantage of this project is that it can be executed in the short term and we could start producing within three years, if the conditions are right.

We still have to process the sectoral authorizations, but we could enter [SEA's] evaluation system through an environmental impact declaration as the project doesn't involve any salt flat ecosystem but leached waste that's in an industrial plant with many authorizations in force. 

On the other hand, the leached waste dump has a favorable RCA [environmental qualification resolution], so the deadlines to execute the project are quite limited compared to a traditional lithium project in a salt flat.

Obviously, we will also need the State to grant us a special lithium operation contract, toward which we're taking steps.

BNamericas: Several lithium projects have agreements with end consumers, especially EV battery manufacturers, sometimes even before they start production. What's the situation at Quiborax?

Ocqueteau: We still don't have a commercial agreement, but many companies have contacted us because they are interested in this short-term project to secure their supplies and stock.

BNamericas: Will this lithium project lay the foundations for similar ones in Chile?

Ocqueteau: I hope so. When we realized that this had potential, it was quite a discovery because we accumulated 9Mt of leached waste during 30 years of operation. But more research is needed and in this regard the State plays a very important role because it must provide legal certainty for private companies to invest in technologies that add value.

Chile is a mining country, and just as we discovered this possibility, without a doubt other companies may join as long as there are clear rules so they dare to do so.

BNamericas: How will you address ESG criteria regarding community engagement or to obtain the social license?

Ocqueteau: This project doesn't require indigenous consultation because it will not generate a significant impact on any community. The nearest indigenous community is more than 150km away.

Regardless, throughout our production of boric acid, we have built a very close relationship with communities and we have generated a relationship of mutual trust from the first moment, making them participants in the project. 

We're talking about a region that has historically been neglected, like Arica y Parinacota, so from the point of view of social and environmental responsibility, we have incorporated them from the beginning.

BNamericas: Could the project’s useful life be extended, given that Quiborax’s continued boric acid production will also involve the accumulation of leached waste?

Ocqueteau: Indeed, leached waste will continue to be accumulated and technologies will be perfected, so without a doubt there's the possibility of extending it.

BNamericas: Are you considering using renewable energy or desalinated water?

Ocqueteau: In 2023, we changed the energy matrix of our chemical plant, leaving oil and diesel to supply ourselves mainly with natural gas. We signed a long-term supply contract with Lipigas and are about to inaugurate the PSR [satellite regasification] plants at our El Águila industrial chemical plant, where the leached waste is stored.

In addition to LNG, we have had an alliance with Engie since 2013-14 with which we built a photovoltaic solar park that supplies 17% of the plant's energy requirements, and another part will be supplied with other non-conventional renewable energy options.

With respect to water, we use a small amount in the boric acid production process, and we have water rights in a sufficient quantity in the region. We will not have greater water requirements than what we already consume for the lithium project, and we will use the same industrial water that circulates throughout our acid process. Therefore, we're trying to determine what's the best form of direct extraction to make water use even more efficient.

BNamericas: Regarding infrastructure and equipment, are we talking about lithium carbonate production plants similar to the one SQM has?

Ocqueteau: There are different technologies, but what we want to establish is an expansion of our chemical plant, hopefully as efficient as possible to process lithium carbonate. Our engineers are trying to come up with a sustainable construction plan in the research and development stage based on an extension of what we already have.

BNamericas: How is the boric acid business line going?

Ocqueteau: The boric acid business has quite fluctuating prices that depend on many factors, such as China and the situation of the main producer of boric acid, which is Turkey. We continue to be the third largest producer in the world, but without a doubt these have been difficult years due to the vicissitudes of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has impacted the markets in general.

Although the cost structure of mining projects in Chile is high, this is a business that has been maintained and we continue to make investments practically every year, especially so that our project is automated as much as possible. Our production is already quite automated, the process is managed from a control room and our operators are highly trained people.

BNamericas: What’s your boric acid production estimate?

Ocqueteau: In 2022, boric acid production was around 120,000t, which we project for almost every year to meet customer requirements, mainly in the Asian market.

BNamericas: What are the legislative challenges the lithium project will have to face?

Ocqueteau: The legislative challenges for this type of project are not urgent because traditional projects that will be executed in salt flats need greater regulation. However, first is the determination of the process through direct extraction. Legislatively, the rules of the game have to be set with regard to DLE to continue advancing in research and development.

BNamericas: In the past, Quiborax faced social problems regarding the emission of particulate matter and polluting gases as part of boric acid production. How will you continue to face that challenge?

Ocqueteau: These are the day-to-day challenges in mining, but the processes can always be perfected. Today, the impacts we have on our production are quite limited. Indeed, in the past, we had inspections and problems that we were able to solve in general.

As a company, we try to allocate as many resources as possible to mitigate these risks and become increasingly sustainable. Regarding the mistakes that one makes, which are legitimate in any industry, we have learned lessons and we try to prevent them from happening again.

BNamericas: Are you worried about falling lithium prices?

Ocqueteau: The recent increase was a very temporary event that was not sustainable over time. The prices currently being negotiated are around US$20,000/t, although we never thought about this project based on the high prices that existed one or two years ago.

We have been guided more by the demand for lithium which will remain high, regardless of the possibilities of replacing lithium batteries, as many companies need lithium as a critical input to ensure their supplies in the future.

BNamericas: Are you interested in continuing to explore new lithium-related projects?

Ocqueteau: Some mining concessions we hold in the salt flats of Chile are from before 1979 and are very attractive from a regulatory point of view because, strictly speaking, they do not fall into the category of lithium as a state resource. Therefore, we don't rule out that we may look into the possibility of developing a project on a larger scale later on. But we try to move step by step.

We have a project in the pipeline that's very nice and that we want to move forward, although it depends on the rules of the game that the State sets.

BNamericas: Do you support the bill that would allow granting lithium concessions?

Ocqueteau: Absolutely. It cannot be that we have the largest lithium resources in the world and restrict them to a couple of companies. It's unacceptable because it's not only about production, but also about creating sources of employment and greater investments for both the [national] and regional fiscal coffers.

As a lawyer, I cannot understand why inconsistency is maintained and if you ask me as a mining executive, even less so.