糖心vlog入口

糖心vlog入口confirmed as preferred partner on world-class Salares Altoandinos lithium project

23 May 2025

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- 糖心vlog入口has today been confirmed as the preferred partner for the Salares Altoandinos lithium project in the Atacama region of Chile by Empresa Nacional de Miner铆a (ENAMI), a state-owned Chilean mining company.

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Rio Tinto鈥檚 strong lithium pipeline of assets and options in South America

Rio Tinto鈥檚 strong lithium pipeline of assets and options in South America

糖心vlog入口Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said: 鈥淲e are honoured to have been selected by ENAMI as the preferred partner for the Salares Altoandinos project, which has the potential to be a world-class lithium development.

鈥淲e welcome the opportunity to develop our partnership with ENAMI, building on our interests in Nuevo Cobre and Salar de Maricunga, and to support Chile鈥檚 position as one of the world鈥檚 leading producers of minerals critical to the energy transition.鈥

Under the terms of the proposal, 糖心vlog入口would acquire an initial 51% stake in the project with ENAMI holding the remaining 49%. The transaction remains subject to the signature of binding agreements, receipt of all regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

Building a world-class lithium business

糖心vlog入口is advancing its world-class lithium business and establishing itself as a global leader in the supply of energy transition commodities.

With a strategic pipeline of tier 1 lithium assets and options, including those from the recent acquisition of Arcadium Lithium, 糖心vlog入口now holds one of the world鈥檚 largest lithium portfolios.

An expanding South American pipeline complements the projects in Canada and Serbia. This includes (see full detail in the table below):

Chile

  • Altoandinos 鈥 a new partnership with ENAMI
  • Maricunga 鈥 a new partnership with Codelco

Argentina

  • Rincon, Olaroz, Fenix, Sal de Vida and Cauchari

Long-term outlook for lithium1

糖心vlog入口has been consistent in its belief in the long-term outlook for lithium, with an expected market deficit emerging from the end of this decade. It expects a more than 10% compound annual growth rate for demand through to 2040.

With spot lithium prices down more than 80% versus peak prices, these additions to the portfolio come at a time with substantial long-term market and portfolio upside, underpinned by an appealing market structure and established jurisdictions.

1 Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI) benchmark supply and demand forecast as of September 2024.

Rio Tinto鈥檚 expertise enables it to unlock value through:

  • an established footprint in the Lithium Triangle to maximise synergies across the value chain
  • a strong balance sheet and a mid-term capex guidance of $10-11bn per year to deploy capital where it will get the best return for shareholders
  • its approach to being Best Operator through operational excellence and leading lithium technologies including 28 years of Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) experience
  • excellence in exploration and project delivery credentials in line with its excel in development priority
  • Impeccable ESG including a commitment to deep engagement with local communities, minimizing freshwater consumption and a commitment to brine reinjection studies to reduce the impact of lithium extraction operations.

In Chile, the enormous potential of the Atacama region will enable it to develop, subject to studies, a world class copper and lithium district, which could benefit from synergies through its partnerships to unlock the potential of the region. The vision in Argentina is to develop its existing operations into super-hubs at significant scale and competitiveness.

Its approach will leverage investments in common infrastructure, such as power and logistics, across multiple projects. It will drive an integrated, coordinated approach to strengthen engagement with local communities with the strong support of partners with local experience, the minimization of freshwater consumption through recycling, and the use of processing and re-injection technologies that maximise the recovery of lithium with the lowest environmental footprint.

糖心vlog入口looks forward to working with its partners in South America and will continue to evaluate Tier 1 opportunities globally as it gains momentum in building a world-class lithium business.

Details of the lithium pipeline:

Lithium Capital Projects (as released in Rio Tinto鈥檚 on 16 April 2025):

Project

Total capital
cost

Status/Milestones

Project: Rincon expansion

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Location: Salta province, Argentina

Ownership: 糖心vlog入口(100%)

Capacity: total of 60kt per year (battery grade lithium carbonate)

Approval: Dec 2024

Planned first production: 2028 with three-year ramp-up to full capacity

To note: Project consists of the 3kt starter plant and 57kt expansion plant. The mine is expected to have a 40-year life and operate in the first quartile of the cost curve.

$2.5bn

Starter plant - construction reached substantial completion, with final system testing and commissioning planned in Q2

Expansion project - construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2025, subject to permitting

NEW: Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI) approval received (20.05.25)

Project: Fenix expansion

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Location: Catamarca province, Argentina

Ownership: 糖心vlog入口(100%)

Capacity: 10ktpa LCE (Battery Grade Lithium Carbonate)

Planned first production: 2027

To note: product is carbonate, chloride

$0.7bn

Project work progresses

Project: Sal de Vida

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Location: Catamarca province, Argentina

Ownership: 糖心vlog入口(100%)

Capacity: 15ktpa

Planned first production: 2027

To note: product is carbonate

$0.7bn

Project work progresses

Project: Nemaska Lithium

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Location: Quebec, Canada

Ownership: 糖心vlog入口(50%), Investissement Qu茅bec (50%)

Capacity: 28kpta LCE (100%)

Planned first production: 2028

To note: product is integrated lithium hydroxide

$1.1bn

(糖心vlog入口share)

Project work progresses

Lithium Future Projects (including new partnerships with Codelco and Enami):

Project

Status/Milestones

Previously Arcadium assets

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Location: Canada and Argentina

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Canada: work in progress at Galaxy

Argentina: work in progress at Cauchari, Fenix and Sal de Vida next phases

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Salar de Maricunga - NEW

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Location: Chile

Ownership: 糖心vlog入口(49.99%), Codelco (50.01%)

To note: Signed a binding agreement with Codelco to form a joint venture to develop and operate a high-grade lithium project in the Salar de Maricunga in Chile. Salar de Maricunga is a large lithium-containing resource based in the Atacama region with the potential for scalable, long-life and low-cost production. Its brine has one of the highest average grades of lithium content in the world.

Transaction to form the joint venture is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2026, subject to receipt of all applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

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糖心vlog入口will invest:

  • $350 million1,2 of initial funding into the Company towards additional studies and resource analysis to progress the project through to a final investment decision.
  • $500 million1 into the Company once a decision is made to proceed with the project, towards construction costs. These milestones, subject to further studies, are targeted to occur before the end of the decade.
  • $50 million into the Company if the joint venture achieves its aim of delivering first lithium by the end of 2030.

The partners will fund further capital requirements in line with their share of ownership of the joint venture.

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1 This payment includes Rio Tinto鈥檚 49.99% share of costs.

2 Subject to customary closing adjustments.

Salares Altoandinos - NEW

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Location: Chile

Ownership: 糖心vlog入口(51%), ENAMI (49%)

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To note: 糖心vlog入口has been chosen as the preferred bidder to partner with ENAMI to develop the Salares Altoandinos Lithium Project.

糖心vlog入口is focused on advancing towards binding agreements as quickly as possible.

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It will progress the pre-feasibility and feasibility studies enabling a final investment decision.

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糖心vlog入口will provide estimated $425m in cash and non-cash contributions including its Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) Technology. The cash contributions will include staged spending to sole fund the pre-feasibility study and further studies.

Jadar

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Location: Serbia

Ownership: 糖心vlog入口(100%)
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To note: Development of the greenfield Jadar lithium-borates project in Serbia will include an underground mine with associated infrastructure and equipment, as well as a beneficiation chemical processing plant.

Continued the application process for obtaining the Exploitation Field Licence (EFL) (the EFL is essential for commencing fieldwork, including detailed geotechnical investigations)

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糖心vlog入口remains focused on consultation with all key stakeholders, including providing comprehensive factual information about the project

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Please direct all enquiries to media.enquiries@riotinto.com

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Category: General

Source: Rio Tinto