Chilean lithium miner Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA, or SQM, intends to launch an offering of senior unsecured notes to repay its US$250 million of 5.50% notes due April 21, 2020.

It will also use net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including funding for its capital expenditure program, according to a Jan. 9 news release.

A Chilean environmental court recently upheld a claim by local indigenous communities in the Atacama Desert against water use by SQM, a ruling that may reportedly affect a planned expansion of the Salar de Atacama lithium operation.