SQM Today N°9

ISSUE N˚ 9 | January 2017

THE FOREIGN LEGION

They have come from Spain, Italy, Colombia and Ecuador. They are all highly qualified professionals who work in the Hydrogeology Department, Soqui’s most cosmopolitan area with 15 foreign nationals on a team of 30. Though their stories differ, the common denominator is the Salar de Atacama and their willingness to seek a future beyond national borders. (p. 8, 9 and 10)

THE CHAMELEON OF LA PAMPA Iván Silva, an employee at María Elena, is a local celebrity thanks to his program on Radio Nueva Coya. (p. 6)

2016 IN IMAGES SQM’s camera captured highlights from Christmas parties, a presentation for investors in New York, a little soccer in Santiago and at work sites. (p. 14, 15)

MORE POTASSIUM, LESS SODIUM Did you know that SQM supports cutting edge scientific research through CARE UC for new applications of potassium and lithium that could improve the health of millions of people? (p. 13)

HAVE FUN, PLAY AND WIN (p. 19)

01 Editorial

02 Fact and numbers

A NEW STAGE, A NEW CORPORATE IMAGE

By Pablo Altimiras Development and Planning Senior Vice President

90%

of SQM’s production is exported to destinations on 6 continents.

In 2017, SQM will unveil a new corporate image and a new slogan to go along with it. The new image will represent the company’s current situation, what we do, and how that impacts people’s daily lives. It will also show which industries we are involved in and where we see ourselves in the future.

A company’s corporate image is important because it represents the meanings of a brand. It is a visual/ conceptual image that identifies it. Its logo, colors and shapes tell what kind of company we are, what we are associated with and where we want to go.

It helps us to foster identification and differentiate ourselves.

We aren’t changing our brand. Our company is very proud of what it has built over the course of its 48year history. We will continue to be SQM—that is not up for discussion.

However, as happens with all companies, we are now moving through a different, unique stage in our history and towards a future that has been set out in a strategic plan with a course of action and clear goals. One example of this is two international acquisitions involving lithium projects in Argentina and potassium in the Congo.

The strategic plan also emphasizes the importance of clearly defining key messages and aligning the entire organization with them. This requires effective communication using the right style and means to drive this corporate strategy. Our visual identity is an important tool for talking about the new stage. That is why we need to update it and adapt it to these new times. To do this, we are studying a proposal to translate these changes into our new logo, colors, institutional image and communications style.

Manager of Communications and Public Affairs: Carolina García Huidobro.

Head of Corporate Communications: Álvaro Cifuentes.

Head of External Communications: Tamara Rebolledo.

Journalists: Carolina García Huidobro, Mauricio Olivares, Tamara Rebolledo, Álvaro Cifuentes, Camila Villarroel and Claudio Álvarez.

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SQM today

All strategies involve choosing what to do and what not do. Making decisions. Through our Strategic Development Plan we have defined who we are as a company: “A mining operator selectively involved in the processing and sale of products to efficiently provide them to industries that are strategic for human development such as health, food and technology.”

We want this change to reflect that definition with a corporate image and visual identity that is closer to and expands upon the sense of belonging that employees feel towards SQM and facilitates the connection to all our external audiences. This is a change in image, but it is also a process of defining the value—or slogan—that accompanies the logo.

We are seeking to achieve a broader corporate position that makes sense to our internal audience, customers, investors and all of the interest groups with which we interact.

This definition that will accompany the new visual identity is the result of a participatory process of focus groups and surveys that we have conducted over the past few months. We encouraged discussions of the attributes that respondents perceived in SQM and the qualities that they would like us to aspire to.

We also received input from various areas regarding how we are seen from the outside including Investor Relations, Sales, Communications, Sustainability, Human Resources and Operations. And we will continue to ask others to participate in this effort. It is our hope that with everyone’s help we can arrive at a value proposal that represents us and shows that SQM is close to people’s daily lives in their health, food and all of the technology that they use for their wellbeing.

Photography: Tamara Rebolledo, Álvaro Cifuentes, Camila Villarroel, Claudio Álvarez, Mauricio Olivares, Francisco Santander and Víctor Burgos.

Design: www.singular.cl Illustrator: Daniela Vergara.

Printing: Ograma S.A. Los Militares 4290, 1er piso, Las Condes Phone: +56 2 24252000 | comunicaciones@sqm.com © Todos los derechos reservados.

25

SQM has commercial offices around the world.

SQM releases

40%

fewer greenhouse gas emissions as a potassium nitrate producer compared to its competitors, which makes it the company with the lowest carbon footprint in the field.

99

plots for recording the state of vegetation

75

plots for recording the state of flora

18

fauna sampling stations

are part of a complete biotic environmental monitoring plan for Salar de Atacama.

03 Briefs SQM FROM THE SKY Do you recognize this image? These are the Salar de Atacama potassium evaporation pools and they were obtained using a drone that captured images at various company facilities.

Nueva Victoria, Tocopilla, María Elena, Salar de Atacama, Carbonato and Antofagasta were the focus of two weeks of intense filming by a production team that witnessed the miracle that is unfolding in the north and followed SQM’s entire production chain.

NUEVA VICTORIA REDUCES ACCIDENT RATE BY 25% This facility had a good year in terms of safety in 2016: it proudly accepted a commendation from the Tarapacá Region Mining Safety Council (Coresemin) for the first time. The award was presented at the II Biannual Safety meeting.

These recordings would not have been possible without the technical and operations support of the sustainability and operations areas at each site.

Thank you!

The award is due to the excellent results that Nueva Victoria presented in safety, including a 25% drop in the accident rate.

RENOWNED SCIENTIST VISITS SQM BELGIUM Researcher Smail Cakmak of Turkey’s Sabanci University visited our Amberes, Belgium, offices to meet with SQM-Belgium executives. The group was led by Frank Biot, Potassium and Nitrates Commercial Senior Vice President.

The professor received the 2016 World Academy of Sciences Award for his research on “Zinc Harvesting and Iodine Fertilizer.” SQM supports his research on reducing illnesses related to deficient intake of zinc, iron and iodine through a fertilization strategy that increases the concentration of these elements in rice and wheat. The project is conducted in research centers in China, India, Thailand, Pakistan, Turkey, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil.

Continued improvement and safe work towards the goal of zero accidents is one of the company’s fundamental pillars in its efforts to achieve operational efficiency.

Nueva Victoria’s Head of Risk Prevention Ismael López explained the reasons for this outcome: “There are three fundamental aspects to note: the development of our employees’ skills; ongoing reinforcement of safety practices in order to move towards a solid culture of prevention; and efforts to create opportunities and plans of action based on the involvement and collaboration of everyone in the organization around safe practices.”

“This study represents a scientific contribution in the area of agricultural sciences that can generate a significant improvement in the lives of approximately 2 billion people,” observed Harmen Tjalling Holwerda, Global Market and Product Development Director at SPN. “The initial research findings clearly and consistently indicate that wheat and grains of rice can be fortified with iodine at levels that would be equivalent to 30% of the recommended daily value.”

HELLO WORLD! SQM was one of the companies featured in Bloomberg’s most recent episode of HELLO WORLD, an audiovisual space hosted by Ashlee Vance that invites audience members to travel the world to meet inventors, scientists and technology experts who are shaping our future and experience marvelous natural highlights in each of the countries visited.

During the last season, Chile was the focus of a report entitled “Seeking the origins of the universe in the driest desert on earth.” The program features the extreme nature of the most arid desert in the world and the significant innovation of world-class projects such as the Alma observatory, SQM lithium production, the IF innovation center, solar plants and the ISOFRUT berry production center.

Our company was included because of the technological developments that it has implemented in Salar de Atacama, which have made us the world’s largest lithium producer. Lithium Potassium Technical Manager Alejandro Bucher traveled with Ashlee Vance, explained the process and answered questions.

04 Overheard...

“We have made important investments in Chile and we will continue to do so. We have acquired enough size and know-how to explore other geographies that also generate diversification because some opportunities aren’t available here and they complement our work in Chile.”

“Education brings us so many benefits: confidence, awareness and freedom of choice. Opportunities like these highlight the student’s dignity and feeling of belonging to the SQM family. We want to lighten the weight of the heavy backpack that is higher education.”

Patricio de Solminihac,

Gustavo Marín,

General Manager, in an interview with La Tercera newspaper on Sunday, September 4 when asked about projects in Argentina and the Congo in the context of SQM’s new strategic plan.

A Social Work student at Universidad de Tarapacá and son of Augusto Marín, Operations Assistant at Salar de Atacama.

Gustavo is one of the beneficiaries of the SQM scholarship program.

“The implementation of Lean in Arauco is on stand-by. It has cost more than expected. After this visit, we think that this may be due to the fact that we did not take the operators and maintenance staff into account, because they are the key to success at SQM.”

Mauricio Cabello,

Arauco Reliability Manager on a visit to Coya Sur to learn about the results of M1 in situ.

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05 Without borders THE COMMERCIAL ROUTE By Álvaro Cifuentes

Abu Dhabi was the first destination, the host of 2016 SOLAR PACES, the most important meeting about solar salts. The next stop was Madrid for Fruit Attraction, the main European produce event, where SQM fertilizers played an important role.

Over 450 participants from five continents crossed seas and mountains to reach the Persian Gulf, and specifically the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

This is where key players in the solar salt industry— in which SQM is a global leader—came together to share information and discuss the latest information and progress, main policies and methods for selling CSP (Concentrated Solar Power).

Giuseppe Casubolo, SQM Solar Salts Marketing and Sales Director, hosted the closing dinner of the international meeting. In order to make the event a true cultural experience, it was held in the Arabian Nights Village in the middle of the desert in Abu Dhabi. Giuseppe Casubolo and Sandra Van Geyte, Solar Sales and Customer Care Manager, and Alex Nijo, SQM Vitas FZCO’s representative in Dubai, welcomed the guests, who enjoyed dinner and a live musical performance followed by a camel ride through the desert sands in the area surrounding the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The Masdar Institute for Science and Technology, the official host of the conference, offered a visit to its Solar Platform and 100 MW Shams 1 CSP Plant, the largest of its kind in the entire Middle East. It is important to note that SQM is participating in an R+D project with that entity and Boston’s MIT in order to generate a demo prototype in which they are researching the thermal performance of molten salts for solar receptor applications.

SOLAR PACES is an international cooperation network that brings together experts from around the world to

SQM had a large space at IFEMA that allowed executives to meet with potential clients.

focus on the development and marketing of solar energy concentration systems. It is one of several collaboration programs managed under the umbrella of the International Energy Agency that seeks to find solutions to global energy problems.

In 2017, the SOLAR PACES Conference will be held in Santiago, Chile, offering us the opportunity to promote our solar salts.

Planting Seeds in Europe For the third consecutive year, SQM Iberian participated in Fruit Attraction, Europe’s main produce sector event, which was held during the International Fair of Madrid (IFEMA), an event that attracted 28,000 professionals from this sector from over 30 countries.

Soqui’s presence at the sixth edition of the event sought to reinforce and diversify its position in the local market, presenting the range of Specialty Plant Nutrition products available, this time with a focus on soluble solids. In addition, the study that positions SQM’s potassium nitrate as the product with the smallest carbon footprint in the industry was emphasized, thus reinforcing our commitment to global sustainability.

The SQM Iberian stand promoted the full portfolio of plant nutrient solutions and connected the company’s history to the Chilean nitrate industry, which has been present in Spain for over a century.

There was also a special place for the team of agronomers to meet with distributors, buyers, retailers and other representatives of the European market who attended the fair.

SQM Solar Salts Marketing and Sales Director Giuseppe Casubolo and Alex Nijo, representative of SQM Vitas FZCO in Dubai.

Over 450 participants from six continents met in Abu Dhabi.

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SQM today

06 First person

FORWARD IS THAT-AWAY

By Mauricio Olivares Pizarro

Rodrigo Rivas, aka “Colombia,” knows that life presents obstacles and difficulties as well as opportunities. He talks about how he left behind a rocky road in Colombia’s Cauca Valley and made a future for himself in our country as a plant operator at Salar de Atacama.

The town of Buenaventura is located in Colombia’s Cauca Valley. It is one of the distribution points in the Pacific Basin and handles 60% of Colombia’s maritime trade, including SQM products.

It was in this warm and humid place surrounded by mountains, the sea and thick vegetation that Rodrigo Rivas, or “Colombia” as he is known in Salar de Atacama, was born and raised. He is passionate about his work as a firefighter and plant operator, says that he loves his wife Carmen Rosa and children Elián (12), Ángel (6) and Rafael (4), and explains that they are his inspiration for moving forward each day. These are the words of this wide-smiled Colombian who knows the value of changing one’s destiny: “I had a tough childhood. My parents separated when I was 13, and that had a profound effect on me. My childhood radically changed and I suddenly had to be head of the household,” he says emotionally. “That is why I value family unity and the strength of the bonds that are created within the family nucleus.”

He learned how to fish and became a boat captain in Buenaventura, later holding a series of jobs related to the sea. He also learned about the nightlife as an accountant for a nightclub, “but that wasn’t the life I wanted for me and my newborn son, Elián.”

That was when he decided to find a new future in the southernmost part of the continent. He headed to Arica.

“It isn’t easy to arrive in an unknown country with nothing in your pockets, but I always trusted that my luck would change,” he recalls. “As they say in my country, forward is that-away.” He didn’t let culture shock or the climate get him down.

With a lot of effort and the valuable help of a few people that he remembers fondly, this Bonaventura native and Arica adoptee feels grateful for the life he leads.

Rodrigo feels both colombian and chilean and is a big soccer fan.

Prior to joining SQM, he delivered soft drinks, worked in the warehouse at the Arica agriculture and livestock terminal and was a seasonal worker in the tomato fields in the Azapa Valley, jobs that he remembers with tremendous pride. “Because they were necessary to get where I am today.”

When he met Carmen Rosa and Ángel was born, the wind started to blow in his favor. He approached the mining industry and learned about the immensity of Salar de Atacama.

“I had been in Chile for six years, and I was lucky to enter this field to work as an industrial cleaning operator for a contractor at SQM Salar.” Thanks to his good performance, the man who was working as Potassium Production Manager at the time offered him an opportunity to join SQM. When he heard that the facility needed volunteer firefighters, he didn’t hesitate to sign up and sees this work as a way of giving back to the entity that trusted in his abilities. “I had wanted to be a firefighter since I was little, and I made that dream come true in 2014.” After three years on the force, he now includes emergency lifesaving tools in his skillset.

He enjoys the tranquility and stability of the life that he has found in chile.

Rodrigo’s colleagues appreciate his optimism and good humor.

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07 My other me

THE CHAMELEON OF LA PAMPA

By Claudio Álvarez

At Soqui, Iván Silva is the María Elena Training Coordinator. But when the switch is flipped at Radio Nueva Coya and the red light and “On Air” button light up, Iván is transformed...

When he becomes “The Chameleon,” he leaves his identity as an introvert behind and his voice fills the studio. His character’s feisty personality has made Iván Silva a celebrity. His immense passion for radio work, theater and hosting shows has pushed him to find ways to showcase his talent ever since he was a child. Today his is a local celebrity in María Elena.

Camaleón is an interview program that Silva hosts with his partner, DJ Gustavo Camaleón. They explore topics of interest with a wide range of guests. “Like a chameleon, the rhythm of our program is a little wild. We have interviewed everyone from politicians to new local talents. One of the guests who left his mark was the new mayor, who discussed his personal life, prior electoral missteps and his plans for his role.”

It is the only program that is broadcast live on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Radio Nueva Coya de María Elena, and it has enjoyed a remarkable response.

Iván is recognized at work and in public, and people express their affection for his character. “I think that Camaleón has made a place for himself in their homes and in their hearts,” Silva says happily.

“I started out when I was 13 hosting kids’ parties. I was and still am very shy, but I found my vocation in the arts, which is why I continue to seek out spaces in which to develop and polish my artistic side.”

At his high school, Liceo Técnico Profesional de María Elena, Silva was part of the theater group and was cast in leading roles. “I met a lot of people and learned to trust in my abilities and strengthened my personality,” he says. “I started to make a name for myself and I ended up using my connections to host lots of events including the popular María Elena Summer Olympics.”

When I graduated from high school, I started teaching in the theater program and joined the group “Invasores.” Silva now divides his spare time in María Elena between his three passions: his family, culture and radio.

His character, “El Camaleón,” has allowed Iván to become an important figure in cultural life through Centro Remolino, which is home to various groups in María Elena.

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SQM today

“There are many organizations with excellent ideas here that lack legal status or the guidance that they need to bring the projects to life or compete for funding. Through Servicio País and with two friends, we gathered information and invited them to join Centro Remolino to create synergies,” Iván explains.

He is the Assistant Director of the group.

The result was an injection of energy for new initiatives such as urban festivals featuring renowned

artists such as Anita Tijoux and Movimiento Original as well as local bands.

Iván Silva is 29 years old and already knows how he plans to channel this artistic vocation: “In ten years I see myself opening a design agency and I see the Camaleón becoming a TV personality or national radio host.”

08 Recognition

RECOGNITION FOR SQM’S WORK By Álvaro Cifuentes

In 2016, our company received two important national awards: one for its work in innovation and the other for its contribution to efforts to include women in the industry.

Women represent 16.3% of SQM’s workforce, which is nearly double the industry average.

At the International Seminar on Competition and Innovation in Export Companies organized by the Universidad de Chile’s School of Economics and Business (FEN) and ASEXMA, Soqui received an award that is rooted in its DNA: it was recognized as one of the Chilean export firms with the highest levels of innovation.

Based on objective indicators from a study conducted by the FEN’s Innovation Observatory, which were presented during the ceremony, several national export firms were recognized including Viña Concha y Toro, Celulosa Arauco y Constitución and SQM. Our company was highlighted because of its innovative vision, will and work.

“This recognition is an important incentive for SQM’s vision and work in which innovation and technological development have been and continue to be the backbone of our firm,” said Pablo Altimiras when he accepted the award. “We are an international company that was capable of reinventing the saltpeter industry in the 1980s using Chilean engineering. Since then, we have persevered with ongoing innovation in our processes, products and commercial strategy in each line of our business.”

Innovation in processes and products and technological development have been central to SQM’s successful business and sales strategy. In fact, the company has invested in highly qualified personnel in hydrogeology and chemical process developments as well as research on new products for the varied and demanding markets in which it participates around the world. SQM already has 23 invention patents in Chile and abroad for its processes and products as well as research agreements with various national, regional and international academic and scientific institutions.

Patricio de Solminihac, Chief Executive Officer (left) and Sustainability and Public Affairs Senior Vice President Pauline De Vidts (right) received the IMPULSA Talento Femenino award for the work that SQM has done to include women in the workforce.

SQM Promotes Female Talent Our company also received the “IMPULSA Talento Feminino” award based on objective indicators reported to the Chilean Superintendency of Securities and Insurance (SVS) in the area of social responsibility as it relates to female employees. The elements considered included the percentage of women working at the company, the roles that they hold in the organizational structure, their salaries compared to those of their male peers, and initiatives that allow them to engage in professional development.

Led by Fundación Chile Mujeres in alliance with the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Chile and the newspaper Diario Pulso, this is the first national award for companies that promote women’s work.

The ceremony was held in the auditorium of Edificio Transoceánico and was attended by the Superintendent of the SVS, Carlos Pavez. SQM was represented

by Chief Executive Officer Patricio de Solminihac and Sustainability and Public Affairs Senior Vice- President Pauline De Vidts.

“This award encourages us to continue to move forward in an area that we consider to be important for our company and the country: promoting policies that encourage the inclusion of women in the labor force,” said Patricio de Solminihac. In addition to SQM, companies such as CCU, CMR Falabella, Banco Bci, Walmart, Gasco, LATAM Airlines and Banmédica received awards.

Pablo Altimiras, Vice- President of Development and Planning (center) and Pauline De Vidts, Vice- President of Sustainability and Public Affairs (right), accepted the award granted by ASEXMA and the FEN.

The 2015 Sustainability Report contains some of the data that was used to evaluate SQM in this area. Compared to 2014, the number of female employees at SQM increased by 16.5% to reach a total of 16.1% of the global staff, which is nearly 50% higher than the national mining industry average. Of this universe, 3.3% of the employees work in leadership roles, 39.5% work at the professional level, 19.5% work in administrative roles, 32.2% work in technical roles and 5.6% work as operators.

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09 Cover story

A FOREIGN LEGION

By Carolina García Huidobro

Soqui’s hydrogeology department is unique in that it brings together professionals from many nationalities. They crossed borders to bring their brains, eyes and numbers to Salar de Atacama in order to predict the behavior of this immense brine site. Italy’s Corrado Tore leads “the Hydro Troop” of 30 professionals, 15 of whom are foreign nationals. This is the story of five of these adventurers.

Corrado Tore with his wife Clara.

The conductor of this orchestra is Corrado Tore, an Italian national who has lived in Chile for nearly 20 years but has retained his Italian accent and style as well as a passion for good coffee and elegant clothes.

The Manager of Hydrogeology is from Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia. He earned his degree in civil engineering there and then traveled to Barcelona to pursue a graduate degree in hydrogeology at Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, a globally renowned center in this specialty, where he had the opportunity to learn from two masters of the discipline: Emilio Custodio and Ramón Llamas.

This experience marked his professional and personal path. That is where he met his wife, Clara, a Chilean architect who was also studying in Barcelona. Their paths crossed for the first time at the apartment that Corrado shared with other students in the city’s gothic neighborhood at a going away party for an Italian friend. “There she was, with her mass of black, very curly hair leaning against the door of my refrigerator,” he remembers. “I couldn’t get another beer…I was fascinated.”

The two have been together ever since. They came to Chile for her and started a family. His first job was in the company Water Management Consultants. After that, he joined Arcadis Geotécnica and then Aguas Andinas. In 2005 he was given the opportunity to put together the Hydrogeology Department at SQM, a very important challenge for the direction of the company that started from zero.

He explains, “Hydrogeology is done by forecasting the behavior of the brine in terms of quality and quantity over time. We study the site and make short- and long-term predictions using scales that go from one day to five years. We develop numerical models that we continually calibrate with data from reality. That’s why we say that it is a dynamic tool, a living creature.”

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SQM today

The Chief of Modeling at SQM is Beatriz Sierra, a young woman from Granada, Spain who has been dubbed “BeMatrix” because of her Trinity-like personality.

Beatriz speaks softly and only when necessary, but every sentence of hers is determined and vital.

A recent engineering graduate, she worked as a consultant on highways, reviewing projects and looking at hydraulics issues. However, after two and a half years she experienced something that many Spanish young people have experienced: she was laid off. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she saw this as an opportunity to learn English and specialize in her field. She spent nine months in Dublin, Ireland, in order to reach the first goal along with her partner, a young architect who also was unemployed. She then returned to Spain and completed a master’s degree in Hydrogeology at Universidad de Granada. “I wanted to know more about the behavior of underground waters,” she explains.

She finished her graduate studies, but the recession had not ended and jobs were still scarce. In order to gain experience, she decided to work for free at the Granada Water Institute. “I think that life is to be spent working or studying, or even doing both. But I can’t just do nothing,” she says. “I focused on improving my knowledge of hydrogeology and on getting a job in my field of specialization, which was modeling underground waters. It could be in Chile, Saudi Arabia or anywhere else in the world,” she says.

How did SQM become part of her future? At the Water Institute, a colleague who had studied the same specialty in Barcelona received a job offer from SQM and he told Beatriz about it. She hadn’t heard of the company and didn’t know a lot about Chile either, but the professional profile was just what she wanted. “It was exactly what I had been looking for,” she explains.

09 Cover story

“I am very happy and grateful for the opportunity that I have been given. It has been two intense but very good years.

When I go to Spain, my mom asks, ‘Have you sent out any CVs in Spain?’ and I tell her no, that I don’t want to go back. Honestly, I go to Barcelona for vacation and I feel a little like a foreigner in my own country…”

Vanessa Martínez, Head of Physical and Hydrogeological Testing.

Beatriz Sierra with Vanessa Martínez.

The entire process was conducted long-distance: Skype interviews, lots of emails and after several months, during the 2012 holiday season, a job offer. “It was my Christmas present,” she says.

She came first, and her partner followed a few months later. “Come! This is a serious thing and Chile is a good place to live,” I said. “And soon he had a job here as well.”

Four years have passed, and the couple has put down roots. Their first daughter, Noa, was born over a year ago and Beatriz’s partner has opened his own business.

In regard to her professional development, she has no doubts about the progress she has made. “You have no choice but to make progress here,” she says, laughing.

“It is work that demands a lot intellectually, but at the same time it is very challenging; you solve very complex problems in short amounts of time. It is an opportunity to be very self-taught and proactive in terms of seeking solutions.”

In contrast to Beatriz, whose job is based in an office using a database and making calculations, Ecuadorian engineer Edwin Guzmán spends more time in the field.

As the Superintendent of Water and Environmental Resources, he focuses on pumping tests and environmental monitoring. His intense work takes him from Salar de Atacama to Salar de Cauchari in Argentina and then to his Santiago office.

Edwin is originally from Guayaquil. Some people call him “Compadre Moncho” because of his bushy hair and black beard, and they say that his Italian boss jokingly calls him, “Blondy.”

The son of a Chilean father and Ecuadorean mother, he studied engineering in his home country and then completed a master’s degree in hydraulics and environmental engineering at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. At the

Beatriz Sierra with her family.

same time, he started to work on some DICTUC projects at the Universidad Católica Engineering School. He created important professional networks there and learned of a hydrogeology consultancy evaluating the Salar de Atacama reserve. That is where he met Corrado Tore, who was creating the Hydrogeology Department. A few days later, Edwin was hired by Soqui to work 4x3 shifts at Salar de Atacama as a Water and Environmental Resources engineer.

“It was hard in the beginning,” he says. His work was mainly focused on what is now known as the environmental monitoring plan. He had to visit the various points, review them and issue reports. “I spent all day moving around in a truck,” he recalls. But the hardest part was handling the low temperatures. “I have always had a hard time with the cold. I run away from the winter. I asked myself why I had come here when I had to start out on those cold mornings in the salt flats!”

Time passed, and the hydrogeology area grew. Edwin was assigned new responsibilities: pump testing analysis, the geology area of Salar de Atacama and now as Superintendent of Water and Environmental Resources, where he is also responsible for the exploration of the Salar de Cauchari project in Argentina.

The tough, intense workdays stand in contrast to his family life. “I have two ladies at home,” he says affectionately, “My wife, Pilar, who is also half Chilean and half Ecuadorian, and whom I met when we were kids in Guayaquil. She came to Chile when she was very young and we would write letters to each other. And we met up again here. The other one is my daughter, Emilia, who is five and 100% Chilean.

No matter how many times we explain that her parents are both half Chilean and half Ecuadorean, she feels totally Chilean.”

-And when Chile plays Ecuador, who do you root for?

-Ecuador, of course. If Chile plays another team, I root for Chile. I feel Ecuadorean.

Edwin Guzmán.

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09 Cover story

One of the professionals that Edwin supervises is Catalonian geologist Vanessa Martínez. She is just 30 years old, and has spent two years in Chile working at SQM. She is an enterprising and faithful representative of a generation without borders. She studied geology at Universidad de Barcelona but didn’t have good professional opportunities there, so she accepted a scholarship to volunteer in Guatemala. She spent nine months there working for the NGO Geólogos del mundo, an experience that she recalls as “marvelous and very formative.”

She then received an offer to work as a geological risk technician in El Salvador, where she spent two years. When that period ended, she returned to Barcelona to specialize in hydrogeology. “During that period I knew I wanted to return to South America because I liked Latin American culture and I wanted to try living in the south.”

A Peruvian colleague from graduate school told her about a job for a geologist at SQM in Salar de Atacama. “I had no idea what the company was about,” she says, “But I sent my CV and I was interviewed by the person who was the chief geologist at the time, another Catalonian named Pau Barceló. It surprised me that I would be interviewed by another Catalonian for a Chilean company.” The weeks went by, and in September 2014 she received an offer. “I couldn’t believe it!

Wow! I am going to work in Chile and as a hydrogeologist, which is exactly what I always wanted!”

She started with 7x7 shifts conducting pump test monitoring once the pools had been made to see if they were apt to enter the production phase. “It meant being Santiago’s eyes for the Salar pumping tests.”

After 18 months, she was given more responsibility as Head of Physical and Hydrological Tests. After just four months, they asked her to take on that same challenge but at the Salar de Cauchari project in Argentina. “Everything was already underway here, but in Argentina we had to get everything started.” She now works four days in Argentina and spends every Friday working in Santiago.

“You are 4,000 meters above sea level in Jujuy. It is cold and the distances are long… But I already hired my team, and most of the members are Argentine professionals,” she explains, clearly excited about the progress that is being made on the project.

“I am very happy and grateful, especially because of the growth opportunity that I have had. It has been two intense but very good years. When I go to Spain, my mom asks, ‘Are you sending out CVs in Spain?’ and I tell her no, that I don’t want to go back. The truth is that I go to Barcelona on vacation and I feel a little like a foreigner in my country and I start to want to go back to my apartment, my things and my friends here.”

Damián Córdoba is from Colombia and came to Chile four and a half years ago.

He earned a degree in geological engineering from Universidad de Salamanca in Spain and a specialization in hydrogeology at Universidad de Alcalá de Henares.

Damián emigrated from his native city of Bogotá. He still speaks like a Colombian with a rich register, but he has little nostalgia for his country. “I have been away from Colombia for ten years and I like Chile,” he says. “In fact, my family comes to see me here more than I go to Bogotá. Chile is a great opportunity for me because my profession has lots of prospects here.”

Vanessa Martínez.

He came to Chile from Madrid to work at a Conicyt Research Center in Iquique.

“I liked Iquique and I liked Chile a lot. It had been a good midway point between Spain and the more Caribbean culture of Colombia. Chile isn’t as European or as Caribbean, and I like that. I like to go buy fruit and know that it won’t have chemicals, for example, and I also appreciate the safety.”

Established in Region I, he had already taken note of the work that SQM was doing in the area. At Conicyt he had the opportunity to earn a doctorate through distance learning at Montpellier University, but he felt that he was very young to join the academic world. He felt more comfortable with the technical application of knowledge and preferred to move towards the private sector. He visited Soqui’s website to look for jobs, but found nothing. He kept looking on a job site and found that SQM needed a hydrogeologist. “And it all just came together. That is why I appreciate having this job so much. I feel like it is just what I was looking for.”

He joined SQM as a hydrogeology project engineer and now plays a more crossdisciplinary role in the area: he reviews projects related to hydrology, climate analysis, satellite image analysis, etc.

He is happy in the capital, where he lives with a friend and three adopted mutts.

“We found the first as a puppy on the street. Then Blanquito joined us- I picked him up in the Pampa del Tamarugal, and he was in really rough shape. The third is a dog that I rescued from a trash bag.”

Happy and extroverted, Damián is a wonderful dancer who studied contemporary dance intensely until he was 18. He stopped dancing when he started studying engineering and picked up Latin dance, and has even taken part in competitions.

Hydrogeology’s Foreign Troop

ITALY Corrado Tore

ECUADOR Edwin Guzmán C.

COLOMBIA Damián Córdoba M. Damián Córdoba.

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SQM today

SPAIN Gonzalo Auria P. Izaskun García P. José Pablo González de Aguilar E. Miguel Luna B. Lucia Martínez A. Vanessa Martínez C. Christian Montoro P. Berta Morales G. Alvar Pastor C. Olga Raventos O. Teresa Rentero T. Manuel Sancho Q. Beatriz Sierra R.

10 At work

THE MARCELA JARA ROUTE

By Claudio Álvarez

After working as a banking investment executive for 12 years, she made a radical change and joined the world of mining, which was at that point led mainly by men. With her tremendous character, efficiency and kindness, this secretary of the Office of the Nitrate and Iodine Operations Senior Vice-President has carved out a route for herself that goes well beyond operations...

Every Monday at 4:30 a.m., Marcela Jara enters the Guggenheim Residence in María Elena. She has traveled five hours from Iquique. She rests for a few hours before energetically starting her shift at Coya Sur. With 13 years’ experience as a secretary with our company, her ability and experience are strategic and broad, allowing her to handle requests from the various areas of the offices: Coya Sur Operations, Nitrates-Iodine Projects and Technical Services, and Pedro de Valdivia Production.

At the work site, once she has settled into her office, she quickly begins to answer emails and respond to the varied requests that are made by managers, employees and contractors. Marcela is known for solving problems and answering questions along with providing guidance and support on logistical and administrative issues.

The mother of two sons (Nicolás, 15, and Carlos, 21), her name is known throughout the site for her executive capacity. She is the first person who contacts any new employee who accepts an offer to work at Coya Sur. “I coordinate their arrival—plane tickets, training, the driving course, PPE requests, meals, lodging and I also give them advice so that they have a pleasant arrival at Soqui,” she explains.

Originally from Los Ángeles, Chile, the Executive Secretary handles the schedule of Nitrate and Iodine Operations Senior Vice-President, Carlos Díaz, and also assists colleagues when they need to submit requests into the system. She is currently the only secretary at the Coya Sur site. “The others often have very heavy workloads, and because I am used to the various systems, I help them input their vacation time, flight requests, lodging requests, personal travel and PPE warehouse requests.”

Seated at her desk, Marcela Jara welcomes everyone with her customary smile.

“I feel very happy and fulfilled at work. I also feel very much loved by my bosses, friends and colleagues, with whom I have a very good relationship.”

Mauricio Guerra, Camp Chief at María Elena, knows that her collaboration is decisive “for issuing purchase orders, PPE requests and many other requests.” For M1 Deputy Manager Luis Tobar, Marcela also plays a strategic role: she supports the logistical coordination of the team and the “Go and See” visits made by national and international companies to Coya Sur. “She always meets deadlines and is very proactive,” Luis explains. “She is fundamental to successfully carrying out our work.”

The famous Marcela Jara Route, named after this icon for new workers at Coya Sur.

Her presence has been so important that a bus route bears her name: the route between María Elena and Coya Sur was christened “Marcela Jara” in 2008.

“Marcela generated a service order for a new route to a NPT3 plant that year,” recalls Miguel Bascuñán, Operations Manager for contractor Transportes Bermúdez, “We weren’t sure what the destination name would be, so we decided to name it after her, which is how the Marcela Jara route came about.”

Like many executive secretaries in our company, Marcela is a silent leader making sure that everything happens as it should.

Every afternoon, her work day ends at the María Elena Human Resources Office, where she delivers and picks up mail. She derives satisfaction from the intense work that has helped many others with their tasks and achievements. As the day draws to a close, Marcela Jara makes time for herself and heads to the gym for an hour.

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11 M1

TOCOPILLA CONTINUES TO MAKE PROGRESS Patricio de Solminihac observed the conditions and improvements made by the employees and land operations area coordinators on teams such as quality control, packaging, Pier 5, fields and shipping. He was able to see the progress on the instrument panels, shipping times and the progress made on projects.

“We have made a great deal of progress thanks to your efforts,” he said to the employees. “I would like to sincerely congratulate you on the work that you have done and the results that you have achieved.”

As he brought his remarks to a close, he underscored the importance of safety: “We cannot allow ourselves to obtain better pricing and production at the cost of people’s safety—ever.”

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SQM today

COYA, THE CAPITAL OF M1 The “Lean” methodology is gaining ground in Coya Sur, where the Operations Team has achieved 100% execution and it is a mandatory stop on the benchmarking of this type of work. Progress has been made in the lab with performance indicators, organizational and cleanliness elements, productivity, response times and safety. At the NPT2 plant, team members highlight the evolution of the dialogues on performance, problem solving and employee participation, which translates into a notable increase in production and cost decreases.

“In order to improve and get results, we had to learn to communicate and unify criteria around the four shifts. It wasn’t easy, but it helped us listen to each other and to be more humble,” explained operator Nelson Valdivia.

SALAR IS ON ITS WAY TO OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE Mining, Extract and Machinery Operations are already at the M1 level and will continue to improve.

This is the explanation offered by Mining Production, Pools and Services Manager Gilbert Maldonado, who issued a call to employees to embrace this “new work culture,” which aspires to achieve changes based on operational efficiency and safety.

“Teamwork is essential because when we are all united by and committed to a single objective, we can optimally meet production goals related to the extraction of brine in the quantity and grade required,” explained Northern Mine foreman Cesar Soza.

12 Innovasoqui MORE POTASSIUM, BETTER HEALTH By Álvaro Cifuentes

Nutritional labeling aside, no one disputes the power of nutrition in our lives.

As part of our efforts to develop new uses for our products and contribute to scientific knowledge, SQM supports the Center for Aging and Regeneration (CARE UC) in its research on the impact of consuming potassium and lithium.

There are already concrete results that support public policy for improving human health and lifestyles.

Nibaldo Inestrosa, the winner of the Chile Sciences award in 2008, is leading the study on lithium.

Hypertension, bipolar disorder, diabetes and depression are some of the most common and expensive illnesses in human health today. Medical science is working hard to make discoveries that improve their prognoses. SQM signed a collaboration agreement with Pontificia Universidad Católica that involved a donation to the CARE UC Center in 2012 to support the research project “Potassium: Effects on health, arterial hypertension and neurodegenerative diseases” led by scientist Dr. Carlos Vio. Two years later, the company made a similar donation to learn more about the benefits of lithium for human health through a study directed by Chilean National Science Award winner Nibaldo Inestrosa. The project seeks to expand upon existing knowledge of lithium starting from what is known about its capacity on the cellular level as a vital generator of energy to combat depression and to avoid the accumulation of protein that causes Alzheimer’s disease.

In regard to the impact of potassium on the diet, Carlos Vio explains the impact that increased consumption could have. “These studies are very important for improving individuals’ quality of life because the relationship between the Western diet, which is high in sodium and low in potassium, and the appearance of pathologies such as arterial hypertension, diabetes and renal illnesses is clear and it affects a high percentage of the world population. The research that we have conducted shows that modifying the quantities currently in foods with high levels of sodium and no potassium could prevent and treat these illnesses.”

Both scientists are developing their work in the UC Biological Sciences Building with various researchers on their teams amid a spotless environment of microscopes, pipettes, test tubes, tissue samples and a wide range of liquids and

instruments. There they share data, hypotheses, trials and knowledge with each other and colleagues from around the world. They are driven by the desire to increase knowledge in this area. Here we see the importance of peer-validation under the strictest international standards through publications that both have completed.

The next step is to translate the results of the study into a public policy that brings these scientific advances to people’s lives. And Pontificia Universidad Católica has already selected the connection between potassium and food as one of its “battle horses” in the creation of a public policy to be presented during the first half of this year.

Professor Vio proposes that the black labels on our foods in the supermarkets could be joined by a green label that highlights the presence of potassium given that we know that it can help us a great deal to prevent and control hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

In addition to these common diseases, Professor Nibaldo Inestrosa, who has developed a noteworthy research career working on Alzheimer’s disease, has also published on the benefits of potassium for stopping and lessening the symptoms of that disease, which has such devastating effects on the patient and his or her family. “Ingesting potassium increases and improves cognitive function and lessens the histopathological markers in a model of Alzheimer’s disease” was the title of the scientific article that he, Carlos Vio and six other researchers published last year in the international journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA).

Carlos Vio’s team in his lab, where there is optimism about the results that they have obtained.

Carlos Vio, the professor in charge of research on the positive impact of potassium on human health and nutrition.

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13 In focus SOQUI CHRISTMAS SQM children and their parents enjoyed the holiday parties that our company organized in Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta, San Pedro, MarĂ­a Elena, Tocopilla, La Serena and Santiago. The happiness of this celebration was reflected on the faces of the smallest members of the family, particularly during the unforgettable time spent with Santa Claus.

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SQM today

13 In focus

SQM DAY IN NEW YORK Last August, the Lotte New York Palace Hotel hosted a presentation by our company to explain the status of our business lines and their future projections to analysts and investors. SQM was represented by Board Chairman Eugenio Ponce, CEO Patricio de Solminihac, Corporate Services Senior VP Ricardo Ramos, CFO and Business Development Senior VP Gerardo Illanes and Iodine, Lithium and Industrial Chemicals Commercial Senior VP Daniel Jiménez. SQM’s top executives presented the strategic plan and information about the diversification of the project portfolio beyond Chile including lithium projects in Argentina and potassium projects in the Congo.

DON’T SAY GOAL, SAY ¡GOLAAAAAAZO! Soccer is all the rage at SQM, and we have some great pictures from 2016. These images feature the Salar de Atacama team, which won the Super Seniors National Corporate Soccer Tournament; Manjanvar lifting the trophy at the 2016 SQM Santiago “Futbolito” Championship; and children from Tocopilla showing the enormous progress that they have made thanks to Fundación Ganamos Todos and SQM.

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1

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1. Harold Mayne Nicholls hands out equipment to children taking part in the program created in collaboration with SQM. 2. Sports undoubtedly provide a great opportunity to build friendships and values.

3. Manjanvar lifts the cup won after a close championship game in Santiago.

4. The Salar team was crowned champion of the “National Super Seniors Labor Soccer Tournament”.

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5. Soccer took over Tocopilla thanks to the Ganamos Todos Foundation and SQM.

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14 Community notes

THE FLOWERING PAMPA

By Claudio Álvarez and Tamara Rebolledo

For weeks, they work in silence. They collect cans, cut them, put them together and paint them bright colors. This is how the tin flowers that grow in the inhospitable pampa under 95°F heat come into being and decorate the tombs of the saltpeter workers.

The procession makes its way into a local cemetery.

They visit local cemeteries in processions on All Saints Day to fill the forgotten desert tombs with flowers and keep alive a funeral tradition that represents a form of artistic expression that is deeply rooted in the saltpeter work sites.

Most of them are women who take part in the “Tin Flower Wreath” workshops that SQM organizes and that culminate in this procession to the cemeteries to deposit their colorful artistic offerings. In 2016, the processions traveled to cemeteries in Quillagua, Gatico, Cobija and the company’s former saltpeter offices at Rica Ventura and Vergara. Meanwhile, in the Tarapacá region, 60 participants visited the campos santos at Zapiga, Santa Catalina, Agua Santa and Hurara, accompanied by a brass band.

They initially made paper flowers, but those didn’t last long in the harsh weather conditions. This led to the creation of wreaths of tin flowers made by the wives of the saltpeter workers. These decorations are the only ones that last on the grave sites as a sign of life and the strength of this local tradition.

Red, orange, yellow and green are the colors of nostalgia and the tradition of the cemeteries of la pampa.

One of the workshop participants places her wreath on one of the graves.

The procession was accompanied by a brass band.

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SQM today

14 Community notes Since its inception, our company has contributed to the organization of these workshops, which are intimately connected to local traditions. A total of four have been held in Iquique, three in María Elena, and two in Quillaga and Tocopilla.

Tin flowers adorn and give life to an otherwise forgotten cemetery.

Students from the tin workshop walk towards their destination.

Competition participants outside of one of the local cemeteries.

15 Northern memory Luis Alarcón Carvajal

WHEN YOU WERE PAID WITH YOUR BOOKLET IN YOUR HAND… This was a familiar image in the payroll area of SQM in the 1970s, when payments were made by hand. This is the story of Luis Alarcón Carvajal (left), who assisted the Director of Payroll at that time.

“That was my first job,” Luis says. When this photograph was taken in 1974, he had just joined Soqui and was only 21 years old. “When we issued payments, each card was perforated with a pair of pliers, like the old passenger train tickets. When the pay came in, everyone in the office stayed until late filling the envelopes with bills and coins for each employee so that we could issue the payments the next day.”

Payments were issued in the former cashier’s office at María Elena, and long lines would form at the windows,” Luis Alarcón recalls. “We had to really concentrate so that we wouldn’t make a mistake ordering and updating the cards for each employee at María Elena, Coya Sur and the former Vergara Office.”

He left the pampa in 1978 to work in Tocopilla as payroll manager for port– merchant marine workers. After one year, and based on his good performance, he was promoted to Director of Shipping Documentation. His sons, Hernán and Luis, were born in the port city.

Two years later, Luis was promoted to Cashier, becoming Cashier’s Office and Payments Manager for the Victoria Office. It was there that he and his wife, Patricia Venegas—to whom he has now been married for 40 years—welcomed their first child, Elina.

Ten years ago, in 2006, he was promoted to Director of the Shipping and Port Agency Office and Shipping Documentation at the port, and he is still in that role today. “I have worked for this wonderful company my whole life, and I hope to end my career here, at home.”

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16 The use of...

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KNO Potassium Nitrate

THE SOURCE OF NUTRITION SQM has been developing specialty plant nutrients for over three decades, and potassium nitrate is a sort of miracle formula.

Every time we go to the farmer’s market to buy fruit, vegetables or other produce, we check the color, aroma, shape and shine of each one of the foods that awakens our senses: the intense red of a tomato, the freshness of a head of lettuce or the sweetness of an apple. Do you know how this happens?

A big part of the secret is adequately feeding and nourishing these vegetables during the growing season. Potassium nitrate, KNO3, is the main nutrient for promoting plant development, health and production.

Carlos Díaz, Nitrates and Iodine Senior Vice-President, shows us potassium nitrate, one of the products that SQM produces and sells around the world to improve crops.

The main characteristics that set potassium nitrate apart as the best source of macro nutrition and growth for crops is its high solubility in water, compatibility with other fertilizers and its easy handling and application. In addition, KNO3 is chlorine free, which allows for better use of water, improves soil properties, combats salinity and increases the resistance of plants to frost damage, droughts and diseases.

But potassium nitrate is not only used for farming.

It is also utilized for the industrial chemicals market, particularly in the manufacture of ceramics, glass, for the treatment of metals, storage of thermal energy (solar salts) and for pyrotechnics manufacturing.

Potassium nitrate is used in various crops to make them more resistant to weather conditions and give their fruits more flavor and color.

KNO3 also has been positioned in a competitive way on the solar salts market thanks to its heat concentrating properties.

This compound used to be obtained from blending various types of animal waste with vegetable ashes that we then treated with manure or urine. The exterior layer was then scraped and the product was leached with water.

This is no longer the case. Potassium nitrate is now obtained through the caliche extraction process using the reserves that SQM owns in the Tarapacá region.

The product is then processed along with potassium chloride from the Atacama salt flats.

THE WINNER OF THE THIRD SEARCH AND WIN CONTEST Emiliana Martina Castillo Ossandon, age 10, is in the 5th grade at La

Serena’s Fundación Educacional Seminario Conciliar. She is also the third winner of the Search and Win competition for SQM Today.

She appears in the photograph dressed in the team jersey of our two-time Americas Cup champions with her father, Cristian Castillo Montoya—a MOP II extraction operator in the SOP area, her mother, Claudia Ossandón, and her little sister, Renata Castillo.

The image shows her family visiting the Coll Park lookout point in La Serena, where Emiliana lives with her parents and sister.

Emiliana is a big fan of the Chilean national team, especially team captain Claudio Bravo, and one day she wants to watch “La Roja” play live.

¡Congratulations, Emiliana Martina!

What are you waiting for?... Give it a try!

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SQM today

17 Mining for fun

PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the success of the competition and high levels of participation, starting with this issue we will award one prize per work site. Give it a try!

Fun for Kids

SEARCH AND WIN… 1. What area does the Foreign Legion work in?

2. Potassium decreases the risk of...

3. What city is “El Colombia” from?

4. Where was SolarPaces 2016 held?

5. The Bloomberg program that highlighted SQM’s innovation is...

6. The protagonist of My Other Me is known as...

7. What is the name of the principal nutrient of fruits and vegetables?

Children through age 14 may participate. Find nine answers in the word search and submit the puzzle along with your contact information to the Human Resources office at your site by Friday, September 23rd. You could win a Chilean soccer jersey or set of Alex brand paints.

Cut here and submit…

A M J P I C D S L S T D M A H V Ñ A N T

H R X N Ñ H U W C J Z X U L K T O K S N

Y T T H F L N P D K Q O T N P J K C Z V

D K C E K R I H R A U H Ñ S A Z N B P X

R Y M C R B T B C I P J P A D L O U D T

O R B H C I M U J F R A M Q O B 3 S M B

G I X A R G A E X N D C H T K X V Z L R

E J I M U X L L D L E U S K Ñ M Q H O C

Full Name

Address

Employee Name

City

Work Site

Telephone Number

O U L E Q A I A H I O X L P C S N D U V

L F U L R R K V P Y Z N D O M J B C F Ñ

O A B E M U H E L L P W O R L D S X P L

G H C O Ñ A C N U U M E N Z X L U G M A

Y U B N U E M T Z R S R R J P A Q S D V

J X I Q N R D U K N D B I T N C Ñ H C P

C U A U Ñ I K R F Z C M S M E I Z X T X

D I A B U D H A B I S T Z P S N K O B O

X P R D C J L O M T X O T N R C S N V I

O Z L J Z G R I O C O H S I D X U I L N

V H Q D X O Ñ S F K D Z U L O B T C O R

S T A O S P N V R Q V X J A Ñ T O Z M N

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Centris Mixta, commonly known as Abeja Solitaria (Solitary Bee in Spanish or oil bee in English), is a species linked almost exclusively to the pampa and tamarugo trees. This insect is the main pollinator of this tree, thus playing a vital role in maintaining the equilibrium of the Pampa del Tamarugal. One of the unique characteristics of this bee is its individual nesting system, which is where it gets its name in Spanish.

Photography: Francisco Santander.

The species is protected by Chile’s Ministry of the Environment, and it is one of the insects identified in the research that SQM has been conducting since 2011 in Bellavista, Pintados and Salar de Llamara in the context of its “Tamarugos Environmental Management Plan.�

Collecting these insects has generated important information on controlling pests without altering the ecosystem including data about its abundance during each season of the year and natural predators.