Salar de Atacama

Name: Salar de Atacama, isotope signatures
Creator: IsoFind

Antofagasta Region, Chile

OtherLi (K, B)

Type: Continental salar brine

The main brine lithium deposit of the lithium triangle, worked by SQM and Albemarle by solar evaporation followed by lithium carbonate precipitation. The lithium salts produced are slightly heavier than published brines, either because the latter do not represent the brines worked or because fractionation occurs during evaporation.

δ7Li in ‰ (per mil) Values of the same system

Standard : L-SVEC

Value	Range	n	Mineral or matrix	Source
10.4 ‰		36	salar brine Median of 36 analyses compiled by the authors (Godfrey and Álvarez-Amado 2020; Meixner et al. 2022; Munk et al. 2018); interquartile range +9.6 to +11.4 ‰, not entered as minimum and maximum. Median read from the Figure 3 box plot.	Desaulty et al. (2022), Tracing the origin of lithium in Li-ion batteries using lithium i…
	11.9 / 13.3 ‰		battery-grade lithium carbonate produced from the brine (SQM, Leverton) Industrial product, published range. Heavier than published brines; SQM-Leverton offset of +1.0 to +1.4 ‰. Detailed data in the supplementary tables, not consulted.	Desaulty et al. (2022), Tracing the origin of lithium in Li-ion batteries using lithium i…
	12.7 / 13.7 ‰		lithium hydroxide produced from the brine (SQM, Leverton) Industrial product, published range. Conversion of carbonate to hydroxide shifts δ7Li by only +0.4 to +0.8 ‰.	Desaulty et al. (2022), Tracing the origin of lithium in Li-ion batteries using lithium i…

Deposits of the same type

Cite this page

IsoFind Atlas (2026). Salar de Atacama, isotope signatures. https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/deposits/salar-de-atacama-s250/ (accessed 2026-10-13).

@misc{isofind2026salardeatacamaisotopesignatur,
  title = {Salar de Atacama, isotope signatures},
  author = {{IsoFind Atlas}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/deposits/salar-de-atacama-s250/},
  note = {Accessed 2026-10-13}
}

Updated : 2026-10-13