On-site Renewal Audit of Novandino Litio, 30 Nov – 3 Dec 2026
ERM CVS Seeks Input from Local Community and Other Stakeholders
[spanish]
Today, 30 September 2026, independent audit firm ERM CVS announces that from 30 November – 3 December 2026 it will visit the Novandino Salar de Atacama lithium mining operations in Chile’s Antofagasta Region to conduct the on-site phase of its independent, third-party renewal audit of the operation’s performance against the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) Standard for Responsible Mining. Novandino’s Salar de Atacama site extracts lithium and potash.
While onsite, auditors will collect feedback from interested local stakeholders – anyone directly or indirectly affected by the mine – including community members, mine workers, and government officials. Auditors will also inspect the operation and its associated facilities. Information can be submitted to the auditors prior to the onsite audit dates until the last date of the onsite audit.
An IRMA assessment results in a public audit report published on the IRMA website (see below for link). IRMA audit reports summarize the audit process, explain how and why the site scored against each of the 400+ requirements of the IRMA Standard, and refresh the site’s IRMA Achievement level. Interested parties may request a physical copy of the report from the audited site.
The audited site can use the findings from the audit to improve its practices. Stakeholders, particularly rights holders, affected communities and mine workers, may use the results of this audit and past audit reports to gain detailed information about the site and empower more collaborative engagement on improvements that matter most to them.
ONSITE AUDIT DATES: 30 November – 3 December 2026
Your comments will help ERM CVS assess the impact of Novandino’s Salar de Atacama on local communities and measure its performance against best mining practices. ERM CVS invites you to sign-up for an interview with auditors during the audit, and/or submit written comments about Novandino’s Salar de Atacama using the contact details below.
Interviews can be held in English and Spanish. Interviews requested by 23 October 2026 can be conducted in-person or remotely. Interview requests made after 23 October 2026 can be in-person if time permits, and remotely if not. Feedback and written comments submitted before 3 December 2026 will be incorporated into the results of this audit.
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Interviews with members of the community occur without mine personnel present. Interviews with non-management workers occur without management present and can be scheduled to occur offsite on request. IRMA auditors protect the identity of individual commenters although the general nature of comments will be summarized in the report.
More information is available as indicated below:
- Salar de Atacama’s renewal audit status or view its past audits: responsiblemining.net/audits/salar-de-atacama
- IRMA’s mission, Standard, assessment process, or other mine audits: responsiblemining.net
- To provide feedback or file a complaint about the IRMA audit process: responsiblemining.net/feedback-complaints
