My investing idea for this week is fairly far off the radar. It’s an emerging markets company called Chemical and Mining Company of Chile (Sociedad Quimica Y Minra) (SQM). This medium-sized chemical and fertilizer company (last year’s sales were $1.68 billion) produces potassium nitrate, iodine, and lithium carbonate and distributes them around the world. The company is thriving because it has a rich source for its minerals. But even more important, it has worked to create value-added products from what it mines, avoiding the extreme fluctuations that the commodity markets are prone to. Its other products include specialty plant...
