Albemarle confirms that the Chilean lithium plant is operating normally following an incident last week

Albemarle told the press on Tuesday that its La Negra lithium plant in Chile was operating normally following an "incident", which occurred last week. A local legislator had said that authorities were investigating.

Albemarle, without giving any further details, said that there were no injuries, and the sales of metal used in lithium-ion battery manufacturing are not expected be affected.

It wasn't immediately clear whether operations were temporarily halted last week. Albemarle did not provide any further details about the incident.

Jaime Araya represents the Antofagasta Region where the plant is situated in the Chilean Congress lower house, the Chamber of Deputies. Last week, he sent a request for an inspection to Chile's mining regulatory and labor office after receiving a report that a pipe with acid had burst.

Araya said on Tuesday that he had been informed by the Labor Inspector's Office that an investigation has been opened.

According to a source familiar with Albemarle operations, such investigations are standard practice and the plant is running normally. Another source confirmed that the problem only affected one tank.

Elias Torres is the union leader of plant workers. He said that he couldn't comment on this matter because an investigation was in progress.

The Labor Inspector's Office said that it was unable to provide any information as the matter is still being reviewed.

Albemarle shares fell slightly to $80.14 in midday trading on Tuesday.

Albemarle, based in Charlotte, North Carolina announced Monday that its Chief Operating officer Netha Johnson would leave the company. This is part of a reorganization. Sources claim that Johnson's departure is unrelated to the Chilean incident. Source: (Reporting and editing by Daina Beth Solaio, Fabian Cambero, and Ernest Scheyder, and Alexander Villegas, Jan Harvey, and Alistair Bell).

(source: Reuters)