from yahoo finance
Chemical and Mining Company of Chile, Inc. engages in the production and distribution of potassium nitrate, iodine, and lithium carbonate worldwide. The company also produces other specialty plant nutrition products, iodine and lithium derivatives, and certain industrial chemicals, including industrial nitrates. Its specialty plant nutrition products include potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, potassium sulfate, and specialty blends. The specialty plant nutrients are used in solid or liquid form primarily on crops, such as fruits, vegetables, industrial crops, cereals, and cotton. The company's iodine and iodine derivatives are used in a range of medical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and industrial applications, including x-ray contrast media, antiseptics, biocides, and disinfectants; and lithium carbonate is used in various applications, which consist of batteries, frits for the ceramic and enamel industries, heat resistant glass, primary aluminum, lithium bromine for air conditioner equipment, continuous casting powder for steel extrusion, pharmaceuticals, and lithium derivatives. Its industrial chemicals include sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, boric acid, and potassium chloride, which are used in various chemical processes, such as the manufacturing of glass, explosives, and ceramics. The company's other products comprise potassium chloride and other commodity fertilizers. As of December 31 2006, it held exploration rights or exploitation rights to mineral resources representing approximately 1,799,441 hectares in Caliche Ore Mines; and had 6 mines covering an area of approximately 388,000 hectares. The company also held rights to exploit the mineral resources in an area covering approximately 196,000 hectares of land in the Atacama Salar in northern Chile. Chemical and Mining Company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile.
Points of note
1.Lithium is used in lithium ion batteries which is being increasingly used as it is more efficient than nickel hydride batteries.Lithium is produced only in a few places so there is a supply shortage in the face of increasing demand.
This blog post explains the current lithium market very well
http://climateerinvest.blogspot.com/2007/10/lithium-ion-batte...
2.It is a major player in plant nutrition -an agriculture play as well.
3.no buy recommendations in the past three months,there is even an under perform recommendation.I generally avoid stocks that brokerages recommend as they have tremendous influence on the markets by their own investments as well as by encouraging people to buy the stocks they recommend.I am not a momentum investor or trader.
4.low debt
disadvantages
why or why didn't i see this before?Smart investors have bought into this and forward PE is 39.97
PB 6.21
$27.18 (04/10/08)
