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An Atacama road between brine waters. Credit: AlbemarleAn Atacama road between brine waters. Credit: AlbemarleAudits

ALBEMARLE’S SALAR DE ATACAMA “SALAR PLANT” TO UNDERGO IRMA RENEWAL AUDIT

2 Sep 2026By

Albemarle has signed agreements with the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), and IRMA-approved independent audit firm KPMG PRI to continue to independently assess its Atacama Salar Plant against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. The lithium operation is located in Chile’s Atacama desert.

Renewal Audits in the IRMA Assessment Cycle

In the IRMA assessment cycle, a mining operation first undergoes a comprehensive Initial Audit and the audit firm awards an IRMA Achievement level, valid for 3 years. Approximately 18 months after Initial Audit publication, the operation completes an abbreviated Surveillance Audit to ensure site performance still supports its IRMA Achievement and to monitor progress on the site’s Corrective Action Plan. Per IRMA procedure, sites are expected to complete a comprehensive Renewal Audit before the expiration of its IRMA Achievement level. In June 2026, Albemarle requested an extension of this timeframe to allow a new audit firm (KPMG PRI) to adequately prepare for the audit and to avoid the risk of adverse weather during winter months. Weather-related constraints were a limiting factor during the 2025 surveillance audit, and Albemarle seeks to avoid a recurrence during the renewal assessment.

KPMG PRI will conduct the Renewal Audit, which includes a desk review followed by an onsite audit. In advance, the onsite audit will be announced to alert interested parties of the opportunity to participate. When the audit is complete, IRMA will publish a Renewal Audit report that summarizes the audit process and explains how and why the site scored against each of the 400+ requirements of the IRMA Standard, and refreshes the site’s IRMA Achievement level.

Stakeholder Engagement in the Assessment

Interested stakeholders and rightsholders can find information about the Renewal Audit including the scope of the audit, a timeline of activities, announcements regarding the onsite audit, and a link to the public audit report on the IRMA web page. Previous site audit reports are also available.

Members of different communities, public officials, representatives of the workforce, or other organizations are invited to submit comments regarding how the mine site is managing their impacts to the environment including air, water, waste, greenhouse gases, and ecosystems; how the mine supports their workforce; and how the mine interacts with communities; and how it impacts the community, positively or negatively.

Interested parties may contact the independent audit firm, KPMG PRI to share comments or to ask to be interviewed as part of the audit process. The audit firm can be reached via:

On the web: https://casurveys.efmfeedback.com/se/50D28DB25EEC6A3F
Email: irma@kpmg.ca
WhatsApp: +1 236 558 4483

More information is available as indicated below:

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