Rio Tinto doubles down in Argentina with new lithium plants
2026-10-29 11:31:53 [Print]
Rio Tinto inaugurated two new lithium plants in Argentina's mountainous Catamarca province on Wednesday, marking a key step in its push to build a large-scale lithium business based on direct lithium extraction, or DLE, technology.
With a $1.4 billion price tag, the new Sal de Vida plant and the Fenix 1B expansion project will add 25,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent annually, producing the key battery-making ingredient for electric vehicles.
Its flagship Rincon project in Argentina's Salta province is expected to produce 60,000 metric tons per year of LCE. The company aims to increase its total Argentine output to 160,000 tons and global production to 200,000 tons by 2028.
Both Rincon and Fenix use the innovative DLE technology, a process backers say is more sustainable than open-pit mines and evaporation ponds and drastically cuts production time.
Argentina is part of South America's "Lithium Triangle" with Bolivia and Chile, a region that holds 60% of the world's reserves of the metal.
Chile, the second-largest producer globally, has declared lithium a strategic resource. It promotes a public-private model that industry figures say can limit investment, while Bolivia maintains strict control over its reserves.
Projections from Argentina's Mining Secretariat show the country could overtake Chile by 2029 and reach production of 573,000 metric tons of LCE by 2035.
With a $1.4 billion price tag, the new Sal de Vida plant and the Fenix 1B expansion project will add 25,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent annually, producing the key battery-making ingredient for electric vehicles.
Its flagship Rincon project in Argentina's Salta province is expected to produce 60,000 metric tons per year of LCE. The company aims to increase its total Argentine output to 160,000 tons and global production to 200,000 tons by 2028.
Both Rincon and Fenix use the innovative DLE technology, a process backers say is more sustainable than open-pit mines and evaporation ponds and drastically cuts production time.
Argentina is part of South America's "Lithium Triangle" with Bolivia and Chile, a region that holds 60% of the world's reserves of the metal.
Chile, the second-largest producer globally, has declared lithium a strategic resource. It promotes a public-private model that industry figures say can limit investment, while Bolivia maintains strict control over its reserves.
Projections from Argentina's Mining Secretariat show the country could overtake Chile by 2029 and reach production of 573,000 metric tons of LCE by 2035.
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Unit:USD/kg
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