What this place is
Hombre Muerto has used a selective adsorption process rather than pure solar evaporation since the 1990s, which makes it the real-world reference for every DLE project now being promoted.
Grade. Lower grade than Atacama but with a very low magnesium ratio.
“Grade” is the percentage of the useful stuff in the rock. A copper mine at 0.5% grade throws away 199 tonnes of rock for every tonne of copper it sells. That single number decides whether an orebody is a mine or just an interesting piece of geology.
What comes out
A “by-product” is a metal recovered because it happens to be in the same rock, not because anyone went looking for it. Its supply therefore follows the primary metal’s economics, not its own.
Who owns it
| Company | Role | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| Rio Tinto | Miner | Owner via Arcadium |
As publicly reported by the operators. Ownership of large mines changes; verify against current company filings before relying on it.