OREANDA-NEWS. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-A, SQM-B). During the month of August of this year, SQM informed that the railway line that runs between Coya Sur and Tocopilla was damaged as a result of storms in the north of Chile, and that consequently the train’s operations were halted.

Currently, the engineering studies that are being performed indicate that repairing the railway line could take more than 18 months. SQM will wait for the final results of the different options that are being evaluated before deciding whether to repair the railway line. However, given the timing involved, the Company will immediately implement the corresponding changes to its operating structure.

SQM estimates that stopping the railway line will not affect the volumes of products that it will ship out of the Port of Tocopilla, nor will it have a significant impact on the cost of transporting products between the Company’s industrial plants and the Port of Tocopilla.

About SQM

SQM is an integrated producer and distributor of specialty plant nutrients, iodine, lithium, potassium-related fertilizers and industrial chemicals. Its products are based on the development of high quality natural resources that allow the Company to be a leader in costs, supported by a specialized international network with sales in over 110 countries. SQM’s development strategy aims to maintain and strengthen the Company’s position in each of its businesses.

The leadership strategy is based on the Company’s competitive advantages and on the sustainable growth of the different markets in which it participates. SQM’s main competitive advantages in its different businesses include:

 Low production costs based on vast and high quality natural resources;
 Know-how and its own technological developments in its various production processes;
 Logistics infrastructure and high production levels that allow SQM to have low distribution costs;
 High market share in all its core products;
 International sales network with offices in 20 countries and sales in over 110 countries;
 Synergies from the production of multiple products that are obtained from the same two natural resources;
 Continuous new product development according to the specific needs of its different customers;
 Conservative and solid financial position.