Rio Tinto to buy lithium project in Argentina for $825 mln (updated)

Argosy Minerals

21/12/2021 17:38

(Adds CEO comment, background)
    Dec 21 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto Plc  RIO.L   RIO.AX  said on
Tuesday it would buy the Rincon lithium project in Argentina for
$825 million as the global miner builds its battery materials
business.
    Rio's purchase comes at a time when lithium is in strong
demand globally as a vital ingredient in batteries for electric
cars, while another expected mining product, borate, is used in
solar panels and wind turbines.
    "The Rincon project holds the potential to deliver a
significant new supply of battery-grade lithium carbonate, to
capture the opportunity offered by the rising demand driven by
the global energy transition," Rio Chief Executive Jakob
Stausholm said in a statement.
    The Anglo-Australian miner said Rincon, a large undeveloped
lithium brine project located in the heart of the lithium
triangle in the Salta Province of Argentina, is being bought
from Rincon Mining, which is owned by funds managed by the
private equity group Sentient Equity Partners. 
    The direct lithium extraction technology proposed for the
project has the "potential to significantly increase lithium
recoveries" compared to solar evaporation ponds, Rio said,
adding that a pilot plant was currently running at the site.
    Rio committed $2.4 billion in July to a lithium project in
Serbia, which is attracting protests by environmentalists saying
it will pollute land and water.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2SW0BO



 (Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru and Clara
Denina in London; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
 ((abyjose.koilparambil@thomsonreuters.com; +919986528692))