By Dave Sherwood
SANTIAGO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Chilean regulators have tossed out lithium producer SQM's $25 million environmental compliance plan for the Atacama salt flat, requiring the miner to start again from scratch, according to a filing.
Chile's Environmental Superintendent (SMA) blessed SQM's compliance plan early in 2019 after a multi-year investigation found SQM had overdrawn lithium-rich brine from the salt flat.
But the regulator said in a filing dated Thursday that it would begin the process anew to comply with the decision of a regional environmental court in December that invalidated SQM´s plan, calling it "insufficient."
Both SQM and the regulator have since appealed that decision to Chile´s Supreme Court, but the lower tribunal said earlier this month that environmental regulators must comply with its order even as the Supreme Court ponders a potential reversal.
SQM did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The process is likely to prove yet another headache for the miner, which is seeking to expand its operations in the Atacama salt flat.
The region supplies about one-third of the global supply of lithium, a key ingredient in the batteries that power cellphones and electric vehicles. (Reporting by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)