UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of August, 2018.
Commission File Number 33-65728
CHEMICAL AND MINING COMPANY OF CHILE INC.
(Translation of registrant’s name into English)
El Trovador 4285, Santiago, Chile (562) 2425-2000
(Address of principal executive office)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F: x Form 40-F ¨
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Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security holders.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ____
Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrant’s “home country”), or under the rules of the home country exchange on which the registrant’s securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the registrant’s security holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on EDGAR.
Santiago, Chile. August 13, 2018.- Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A) informs that together with its subsidiary SQM Potasio S.A. (SQM Potasio) it has signed a contract (the “Contract”) with Minera Exar (Exar), Lithium Americas (TSX: LAC; NYSE: LAC) and GFL International Co. Ltd. (Ganfeng).
Pursuant to this Contract, (i) SQM Potasio will sell to Ganfeng its entire stake and irrevocable contributions in Exar, company which owns Caucharí-Olaroz lithium project in the Jujuy province of Argentina (the “Project”), (ii) Exar will prepay the total amount of the loans received from SQM Potasio; and (iii) Exar will pay SQM for the services it provided to Exar during the development of the Project. According to the Contract, SQM and SQM Potasio will receive an approximate amount of US$87.5 million. The Contract is subject to certain conditions and should close during the fourth quarter of this year.
In addition, SQM Potasio and a subsidiary of Ganfeng will sign an agreement in which a deferred amount of US$50 million will be paid to SQM Potasio, subject to compliance with certain product sales targets of the Project.
SQM’s CEO, Patricio de Solminihac commented: “We expect the lithium market to continue its strong growth, and SQM wants to take advantage of this opportunity to develop projects on a large scale. For this reason, we will focus our efforts on our expansions in Chile, where we expect to almost quadruple our capacity in the coming years. We will also focus our efforts in Australia, where we see significant production potential given the size of the existing resources.”
He continued, “We believe that Ganfeng joining the Project is good news. Ganfeng is a well-known player in the industry, and will contribute positively to the Project. We maintain our good opinion about the Project, and will continue our involvement in it, not only because of the future payment involved with this transaction, but also to support LAC and Ganfeng with the continuity of the Project.”
Finally, he said, “We would like to thank our partner LAC, the employees and the management team of Exar, the communities, the suppliers, and especially the authorities of Jujuy Province, the government of Argentina and all stakeholders, with whom we worked over the past two years. Their reception and support have always been very important for the development of the Project.”
About SQM
SQM´s business strategy is to be a global company, with people committed to excellence, dedicated to the extraction of minerals and selectively integrated in the production and sale of products for the industries essential for human development (e.g. food, health, technology). This strategy was built on the following five principles:
| • | ensure availability of key resources required to support current goals and medium and long-term growth of the business; |
| • | consolidate a culture of lean operations (M1 excellence) through the entire organization, including operations, sales and support areas; |
| • | significantly increase nitrate sales in all its applications and ensure consistency with iodine commercial strategy; |
| • | maximize the margins of each business line through appropriate pricing strategy; |
| • | successfully develop and implement all lithium expansion projects of the Company, acquire more lithium and potassium assets to generate a competitive portfolio. |
These principles are based on the following key concepts:
| • | strengthen the organizational structure to supports the development of the Company's strategic plan, focusing on the development of critical capabilities and the application of the corporate values of Excellence, Integrity and Safety; |
| • | develop a robust risk control and mitigation process to actively manage business risk; |
| • | improve our stakeholder management to establish links with the community and communicate to Chile and worldwide our contribution to industries essential for human development. |
For further information, contact:
Gerardo Illanes 56-2-24252022 / gerardo.illanes@sqm.com
Kelly O’Brien 56-2-24252074 / kelly.obrien@sqm.com
Irina Axenova 56-2-24252280 / irina.axenova@sqm.com
For media inquiries, contact:
Carolina García Huidobro / carolina.g.huidobro@sqm.com
Alvaro Cifuentes / alvaro.cifuentes@sqm.com
Tamara Rebolledo / tamara.rebolledo@sqm.com (Northern Region)
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: “anticipate,” “plan,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “strategy,” “should,” “will” and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make concerning the Company’s business outlook, future economic performance, anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses, or other financial items, anticipated cost synergies and product or service line growth.
Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are estimates that reflect the best judgment of SQM management based on currently available information. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are outside of our control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Readers are referred to the documents filed by SQM with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the most recent annual report on Form 20-F, which identifies important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to SQM on the date hereof and SQM assumes no obligation to update such statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
CHEMICAL AND MINING COMPANY OF CHILE INC.
(Registrant)
Date: August 13, 2018
/s/ Ricardo Ramos
By: Ricardo Ramos
CFO & Vice-President of Development
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