Alcalis de la Patagonia (ALPAT) is the only sodium carbonate producing company in South America. Its plant is installed at the end of Punta Delgado, 2.5 km from San Antonio Oeste in the province of Río Negro, in front of the Las Grutas resort.
It belonged to the State until 2004 when businessmen related to the then president, Néstor Kirchner, bought it. They stood as the only regional producers of Solvay soda, key to separating lithium from brine during extraction process.