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Rio Tinto will pay up to $900mn for a near 50 per cent stake in Chile’s Maricunga lithium project, marking the biggest foreign investment in the sector since Santiago semi-nationalised its lithium mining industry two years ago.
In contrast to other diversified mining companies like BHP and Anglo American, Rio is investing heavily in lithium, a critical mineral and a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries, even though prices for the metal have slumped amid a supply glut.
The Maricunga salt flat is the second-largest lithium reserve in Chile, and contains some of the highest-grade lithium brines in the world. Developed in partnership with state-owned copper company Codelco, the project will be Chile’s first major lithium venture in more than 40 years after mining began in its larger Atacama salt flat in the 1980s.
“This will be Chile’s first project outside of the Atacama after years of delay in the sector due to political indecision,” said Daniel Jimenez, founding partner of lithium consultancy iLiMarkets. “Rio Tinto is the best choice of partner [for Codelco] for both the capital and knowhow they bring.”
The project “assures Rio Tinto a very strong position in low-cost lithium assets” after other recent investments, he added.
“Developing this significant lithium resource will deliver further value-adding growth in our portfolio of critical minerals essential for the energy transition,” said Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm in a statement.
Rio will invest up to $900mn across several tranches as the project reaches developmental milestones, in exchange for a 49.99 per cent stake in the project, which is majority-owned by Codelco, the state-owned miner.
Last year Rio spent $6.7bn to buy US lithium producer Arcadium, and announced a $2.5bn expansion of its Rincon lithium project in Argentina.
Rio will join the existing lithium miners in Chile — US-based Albemarle and Chile’s SQM.
Chile’s leftist government announced in 2023 that all new projects in strategic lithium reserves would be majority owned by public companies, in an effort to increase state control over natural resources.
