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SQM discovers new exploration targets in partnership with startup Mineral Forecast
The mining company applied artificial intelligence to exploration in an area located southeast of Antofagasta, for which it worked with the national startup, Mineral Forecast. This resulted in the confirmation of three targets that had already been identified and the discovery of six other targets with a high probability of mineralization.
In late 2021, SQM (NYSE:SQM / BOLSA DE SANTIAGO:SQM-B) began the process of reviewing exploration targets in the Taltal District, an 8,000-hectare sector located in the II Region, southeast of Antofagasta. For this project, the company worked with Mineral Forecast, a Chilean startup that used artificial intelligence on project data to achieve greater accuracy in discovering potential areas for future drilling.
After this process, the existence of 3 targets that had already been identified was confirmed, and 6 other targets with mineralization potential were detected.
Arturo Rochefort, one of the founding partners of Mineral Forecast, comments that “we are very grateful to work with the SQM team, with whom we have an excellent relationship, which allowed the process to be very fluid. This work helped identify new targets with interesting potential. In addition, the Pampa Chango and Nitona targets were confirmed as a high-interest zone of 8 x 4 km.”
Rochefort also explains that for this process, they worked with the renowned New Zealand company Seequent, leaders in geological data modeling and visualization. “We are very grateful that Seequent facilitated our use of their Leapfrog and Edge suite. It allowed us to share and present the results in a more attractive way, in addition to connecting very well with the traditional geological models that our clients already have.”To learn more about the project, visit https://www.sqm.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/88.-Distrito-Taltal.pdf, and contact Jose Dias Cifuentes, Director of New Metals Business at SQM (jose.dias.cifuentes@sqm.com).
Also published in:
https://www.reporteminero.cl/noticia/noticias/2022/04/sqm-nuevos-targets-exploracion