Olemedia
Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) plans to spend $350M on its Rincon lithium plant in Argentina, underscoring its commitment to start production by the end of this year, CEO Jakob Stausholm said this week after visiting the site.
The hard work of our Rincon team is laying the groundwork for our first lithium production by year’s end,” Stausholm said in a statement to Reuters.
Rio (RIO) acquired the Rincon project from Rincon Mining in 2022 for $825M, and plans to develop a battery-grade lithium carbonate plant with capacity of 3K tons/year.
The company said it is working with local communities and authorities to ensure environmental standards.
Rio (RIO) is one of the few large mining companies betting on lithium, as rivals such as BHP stay away from investing in the metal.