How SQM Achieved 4x Iodine Yield Improvement and Cut Inspection Time by 99%

SQM operates 80 leaching heaps across 678 km² of Atacama Desert. A disconnected sprinkler or a dry zone could silently cut iodine yield for weeks before anyone on the ground noticed. Manual inspection simply could not keep pace with the scale of the operation.

This case study documents how SQM deployed an autonomous drone program through FlytBase, built a Computer Vision pipeline on top of it, and transformed a 2 to 3 week inspection cycle into a daily morning briefing. In 8 to 10 months, iodine concentration improved from 0.5% to 2%. Hazardous terrain exposure dropped 70%. Four more docks are already on order.