Hermes Cartes – Senior Process Engineer, Project Manager

Chemical Engineer, Universidad de Concepción, and MBA at Macquarie Graduate School of Management (Sydney). Over 20 years of experience in Operations Management in diverse industries such as mining, chemical, manufacturing, consulting, and transport. Professional specialist in chemical speciality production from ore and brines, with knowledge in several unit process operations such as crystallization, leaching, solid-liquid separation, chemical reaction, and comminution. He worked in SQM for 16 years in SQM Salar and SQM Nitrate & Iodine from Process Engineer to Operations Manager. He also worked in Indalum (Aluminium and PVC), Transap (Railway), Migrin (Silica and Quartz), and PMG Chile (Consulting). His expertise includes project and operation management, production planning and strategic planning; and within his skills are critical thinking and creative problem-solving.

Marcelo Bravo – Senior Process Engineer Consultant

Chemical Engineer of Universidad Católica del Norte, Diploma in Administration, Adolfo Ibáñez University, with a master’s degree in Engineering Sciences with a mention in Mineral Processing, University of Antofagasta. Marcelo has experience in the research and development of processes of Potassium, MOP and SOP, Lithium carbonate, design of solar evaporation ponds in Salar de Atacama, Chile (SQM and Rockwood-Albemarle); in Argentina in Salar de Hombre Muerto, (Minera del Altiplano-FMC), Salar de Olaroz, (Sales of Jujuy-Orocobre), Salar de Cauchari (EXAR-Lithium Americas Corp.). He has performed studies on the Salt Flats of Pedernales and Maricunga (Codelco Chile) and several salt flats of Chile and Argentina and Bolivia in Uyuni and Coipasa (GNRE-Comibol) Salt Flats.  He is a specialist in operational solutions, development of process engineering (research, data analysis, process control, design of bench-scale experiments and pilot tests), and team management in the development of projects in their engineering stages (conceptual, basic, and detailing).

Claudia Pohl Ibáñez – Industrial Civil Engineer

Industrial Civil Engineer from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, with 25 years of experience in strategic planning, operational studies, project management, and financial control. She spent 23 years at SQM, holding key positions in the Finance area and in the Lithium and Potassium divisions, serving as S&OP Manager, HR Manager, Project Manager, and Cost Controller. She was responsible for the operational budget and cost control in expansion projects, as well as the coordination among teams involved in the production of lithium, potassium, and potassium sulfate.

She is currently a partner at Ad Infinitum, where she contributes her expertise in management control, planning, and operations to the efficient development of complex industrial projects, with a focus on the lithium industry and other strategic minerals.

Luis Atenas – Mining Engineering

Luis has a degree in Mining Engineering from the Universidad de La Serena and is an Environmental Monitor at the same institution. He is also a Mining Safety Monitor for the National Geology and Mining Service and an Explosives Programmer.

He has 38 years of experience in the mining field, working in open pit and underground metallic mining; non-metallic mining; and salt mining. He is an expert in the area of earthworks and a specialist in the construction of solar brine concentration ponds. Luis has participated in the construction of approximately 25 million m² of evaporation area in Salar de Atacama (SQM), mastering the technique of building in salt and with salt as material; and has a record of 5 million m² in Nueva Victoria (SQM), building with different borrow materials.

In Argentina he has built pit walls in the highlands (for the company Livent) and also pits for industrial piling (company Neolithium), among other works related to lithium mining.

Luis has also extensive experience in the operation of solar concentration plants, including “salt harvesting”, both with specialized equipment and conventional equipment (approximately 35 million m³ between SQM Chile and the companies Livent, Sales de Jujuy and Minera Exar, in Argentina). In addition, he has expertise in the design of solar concentration systems, according to the terrain and physical conditions where they are located. 

Alea Reyes Mourgues – Senior Process Engineer

Metallurgical Civil Engineer from the Universidad de Concepción (Chile), with over 16 years of experience in the mining and chemical industries, particularly in projects involving lithium and potassium brines. At Ad Infinitum, she serves as a senior process engineer, focusing on the implementation and monitoring of pilot tests to validate brine concentration and reagent addition processes, taking into account the specific geographic conditions of each operational site.

These tests provide representative samples that are key for equipment evaluation and process design. In parallel, Alea is involved in process modeling by establishing technical criteria that define the baseline conditions necessary for the development of detailed engineering.

Giancarlo Antequera – Senior Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical Engineer from Universidad de Santiago de Chile and Master in Asset Management and Maintenance at Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Giancarlo has more than 25 years of experience in investment projects, operational efficiency and maintenance of large-scale industrial plants, non-metallic mining, food and environment. He has worked at SQM (Salar de Atacama operation, KCL plant, MOP and SOP, Nitrates-Iodine and Railway); Nestlé (milk processing plants – standardization, evaporation, drying, coffee processing – roasting, concentration and drying, refrigerated desserts – blending, pasteurization, packaging – and steam generation); and at Hidronor (industrial waste treatment).

Pamela Taborga – Process Engineer

Chemical Engineer from the Universidad Técnica de Oruro (Bolivia) and PhD in Mineral Processing Engineering from the Universidad de Antofagasta (Chile). Pamela has been part of the Ad Infinitum team since 2018, leading the design and optimization of processes for the production of concentrated lithium brines, lithium carbonate, potassium sulfate, and boric acid.

Her work focuses on mass balance development supported by thermodynamic simulation models, as well as the planning, execution, and supervision of laboratory- and pilot-scale tests. These tests have been essential for validating simulation results and refining critical operational parameters in real-world projects.

Fabiola Aqueveque – Chemical Process Engineer

Fabiola is a Chemical Process Engineer and has a degree in Quality Management from the Universidad Católica del Norte. She has more than 15 years of experience in brine and non-metallic mining processes. She worked in SQM Salar de Atacama in the process control of evaporation ponds, in production scheduling of potassium salts and brines for lithium production, in salt harvesting planning, and in engineering and project control. At Ad-Infinitum she has developed bench scale tests, wind tunnel process simulation to concentrate brines, solar evaporation tests to obtain concentrated brine, coordination and supervision of sampling in KCl plant. Currently, she works as an engineer in process control for obtaining concentrated brines and as a consultant in salt extraction.

Manuel Zúñiga – Researcher in Chemical Processes for Lithium Production

Bachelor of Chemistry from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, with a postgraduate diploma in Risk Prevention in the Productive Sector from the same university. Manuel works as a researcher in the development area, where he designs and conducts laboratory tests to validate experimental models for the production of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, covering key stages such as brine concentration, purification, and carbonation.

He also contributes to the preparation of technical procedures, record-keeping, and data analysis, with a strong commitment to quality, operational safety, and environmental care. He is currently involved in testing projects for clients such as Solvyn Solution and Tecpetrol.

Yerko Aenishanslins Bravo – Project Manager and Specialist in Lithium Industrial Processes

Chemical Engineer from Universidad Católica del Norte, with over 20 years of experience leading process, production, and strategic planning areas in the mining industry. His background includes the development and implementation of technical and economic plans for lithium plants, including project evaluations, CAPEX and OPEX calculations, and scope definition for feasibility studies and process optimization.

At Ad Infinitum, he serves as Project Manager, coordinating multidisciplinary teams and overseeing schedules, budgets, risk management, and regulatory compliance.

His expertise covers key unit operations such as drying, crystallization, solar evaporation, ion exchange, and solvent extraction, as well as equipment design, mass balances, and conceptual engineering for pilot plants. He has worked with leading companies like SQM and Albemarle in both Chile and Argentina, standing out for his technical leadership, problem-solving approach, and commitment to continuous improvement.

Gonzalo Rund – Researcher in Lithium Extraction Technologies

Chemical Engineer from the Universidad de Santiago de Chile. Gonzalo leads the development of new direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies based on electrochemical and adsorption processes, with a focus on energy efficiency, water reduction, and resin optimization.

He is also involved in the design of a brine pond simulation system using MATLAB, based on the UNIQUAC thermodynamic model, aimed at accurately representing the behavior of complex multicomponent brine mixtures.

Marcela Casini – Senior Consultant Geologist

Senior Consulting Geologist & hydrogeologist, with 20 years of experience working in salares. MAusIMM Member 327782 Competent Person in compliance with JORC code, and Qualified Person for NI43-101 Reports

Specialized in exploring, assessing, and developing resources and reserves for brine projects in salares. Intimately familiar with the latest best practices for brine exploration as accepted by the Securities Commissions of the world.

CIM (Canadian Institute of Mining) Member #750899

In 2003 she started to work for Rio Tinto exploring  for industrial minerals in salares from the Puna Argentina.

She worked  12 years for Lithium Americas Corp. as a senior hydrogeologist, leading the exploration to estimate resources & reserve, she was the leader responsible  of the design , strategy and development of the production wells field to deliver enough brine to produce 40,000 tons per year of Lithium Carbonate .

Since 2016 Competent Person and exploration manager for Power Minerals (ASX: PNN). Responsible of the  exploration strategy and resources and reserve estimations

From 2014 to the present, she has been acting a lithium specialist  advisor   for  companies as Fortecue (FMG), Quantum Leap, Lithium South development, Golder-WSP, CATL, , Behre  Dolberar, Add Infinitum, Wintershal, Litica, and World Bank.