Protest at Chile's lithium salt flats snarls roads to SQM, Albemarle

FILE PHOTO: A truck loads concentrated brine at SQM lithium mine at the Atacama salt flat, in Antofagasta region, Chile, May 3, 2023. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A protest by several hundred people in northern Chile on Wednesday blocked access to the Atacama salt flat, the world's largest lithium deposit where domestic producer SQM and U.S. firm Albemarle extract the metal.

The demonstration, led by local indigenous groups after an agreement was signed last month between SQM and state-run copper firm Codelco, was affecting SQM operations, said a source with knowledge of the matter.