AA vs SQM Comparison

Alcoa is a vertically integrated aluminum company whose operations include bauxite mining, alumina refining, and manufacturing primary aluminum. It is one of the world's largest bauxite miners and alumina refiners by production volume, but sits outside the top-10 aluminum producers, a list dominated by Chinese companies. Profits are closely tied to prevailing commodity prices along the aluminum supply chain.Alcoa was the first mass producer of aluminum, launching the world-changing Hall-Heroult smelting process in the 1880s, making aluminum affordable. It listed as a public company in 1925. In 2016, Alcoa spun off its automotive and aerospace metal parts segment to focus on mining, smelting, and refining. It bought the 40% unowned balance of AWAC in mid-2024.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile is a Chilean commodities producer with significant operations in lithium (primarily used in batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems), specialty and standard potassium fertilizers, iodine (primarily used in X-ray contrast media), and solar salts. The company extracts these materials through its high-quality salt brine deposits and caliche ore. SQM also sells lithium concentrate from a joint venture hard rock lithium project in Australia and expanding its lithium refining assets in China.