| Work Detail |
The digital tool, developed by the National Geology and Mining Service (Sernageomin), provides information on the saline ecosystems in the north of the country and is intended to support exploration, land use planning, and environmental assessment processes. Chiles National Geology and Mining Service (Sernageomin) has unveiled the Public Platform for Salt Flats and Lithium, an interactive viewer that provides background on the salt ecosystems in the north of the country. This initiative is proposed to support exploration, land use planning, and environmental assessment processes related to lithium and other strategic resources. According to a statement, the platform allows users to explore dynamic maps detailing geological features, as well as access physicochemical data relevant to technical studies. It also facilitates free downloads of information, open to public organizations, companies, research centers, and the general public. The project, which has been implemented over a decade of work, has been led by Sernageomins Territorial Analytics Subdepartment. Specifically, it has been made possible through the collection of field data and the publication of geological studies essential for the characterization of salt flats and lithium in Chile. According to project coordinator Hugo Neira, the interactive viewer, which can be accessed here , provides “key information that is now integrated into a publicly accessible web platform, combining geospatial and geostatistical approaches to facilitate its analysis and application.” Specifically, it includes a territorial viewer, an analytical viewer for salt flats, and a geostatistical viewer for salt flats. The territorial viewer provides, among other elements, geospatial data, lithium concentrations in brines, an atlas of mining facilities, and population centers in Chile. The analytical viewer for salt flats organizes its data into five sections: Data Filters: allows you to filter information by salt system (name of the salt flat), administrative region (Antofagasta and Atacama) and commune. Brine Sample Map: Shows the locations of brine samples, with indicators for the number of visible samples and the total lithium concentration. Salt Crust Sample Map: displays salt crust samples, with indicators similar to the previous section. Salt Crust Mineral Species Map: shows the mineral species identified in the salt crust samples, with a count and description of each species. Mining Ownership and Mining Facilities Atlas: provides information on mining ownership and the number of mining facilities associated with salt systems. Finally, the geostatistical viewer for salt flats is a tool that allows you to analyze chemical information about salt flats. |
