News of lithium

Rio Tinto invests in major Chilean lithium project

19-05-2025 20:56 Chile's state-owned copper giant Codelco announced a partnership on Monday with British-Australian miner Rio Tinto to extract lithium from the Maricunga salt flat.

ANALYSING ARGENTINA

Exit rigging, enter RIGI

08-03-2025 06:00 Argentina has, many times in its recent past, seen long-term sustainability ruined by short-term objectives.

by Marcelo J. García

GLOBAL LITHIUM TRADE

Stubbornly resilient lithium supply remains hurdle to recovery

08-01-2025 10:06 Lithium prices have plunged since late 2022 on oversupply and slower-than-expected growth in electric vehicle demand. Analysts see a surplus this year, although they forecast it will be smaller than in 2024.

lithium mining

Rio Tinto to invest US$2.5 billion in lithium production

13-12-2024 13:24 Anglo-Australian mining giant announces US$2.5-billion investment in Rincón project in Salta Province, with chief executive praising Milei’s reforms and RIGI scheme.

Lihtium in Argentina

Eramet buys out Tsingshan from Argentina lithium project

24-10-2024 17:50 French miner Eramet SA to buy back Tsingshan Holding Group Co’s stake in an Argentinian lithium project

Lithoim market

Rio Tinto arrives in lithium with a survival-of-the-fittest mentality

10-10-2024 07:58 Rio Tinto has assumed a survival-of-the-fittest mentality in the lithium industry – as prices have fallen, it has sought to buyout a once coveted producer at a steep discount.

Economy & World

Rio Tinto expands lithium bet with biggest deal since 2007

09-10-2024 14:15 Rio Tinto Group has agreed to purchase Arcadium Lithium Plc in an all-cash deal valuing the US-listed miner at US$6.7 billion.

Economy

Rio Tinto makes approach to buy lithium producer Arcadium

07-10-2024 07:57 Rio Tinto group, world’s second-largest miner, makes preliminary move to acquire Arcadium Lithium, producers with operations in Argentina, China, Canada and Australia.

Lithium in Argentina

Economic crisis thwarts bid to go nuclear with lithium bounty

17-09-2024 11:35 Currency woes dog Argentine scientists trying to develop key isotope Lithium-6, which could have nuclear applications; Milei’s spending cuts, privatisation plans are also a factor.

Lithium in Argentina

Argentina bullish on lithium amid increase in production

10-09-2024 16:54 Lithium production in Argentina rose 56 percent in July year-on-year; Officials confident of investment despite drop in prices of metal, eye production of 80,000 tonnes by late 2024.

MINING & GAS

YPF eyes sale of lithium unit as focus narrows on shale ramp-up

31-08-2024 17:12 State-run oil company YPF SA is considering a sale of its lithium unit as part of a sweeping divestment strategy to streamline investments into Vaca Muerta shale patch.

Lithium mining

Lithium start-ups bet on high demand in battery-powered future

30-08-2024 11:33 Despite oversupply today, novel lithium extraction techniques will be key to the energy transition even as companies struggle with cost competitiveness.

ECONOMY & FOREIGN POLICY

Argentina, US ink accord for ‘cooperation on critical minerals’

23-08-2024 13:31 Argentina and the United States sign memorandum of understanding to strengthen production of "critical minerals" such as lithium that are essential for the energy transition.

ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT

Lithium fever overshadows environmental concerns

13-08-2024 17:18 Lithium is a critical ingredient in electric car batteries and crucial for the global shift away from fossil fuels. But interest in the metal is a boon for some, doom for others.

LITHIUM IN LATIN AMERICA

New lithium plant inaugurated in Salta Province

03-07-2024 22:41 French mining group Eramet and its Chinese partner Tsingshan inaugurate new lithium exploitation plant, an investment worth US$870 million.

Lithium in Argentina

Argentina is about to unleash a wave of lithium in a global glut

30-06-2024 09:06 Four new projects will finally begin to churn out lithium in the weeks and months ahead. That will almost double production capacity in Argentina, whose growth potential has long lured the attention of battery makers around the world.

Lithium in Argentina

China’s CNGR looks to snap up more lithium projects in Argentina

03-06-2024 10:56 Chinese battery-component maker looking to buy major stakes in Argentina brine deposits to extend its foray into the lithium-rich region.

Lithium in Latin America

Giant lithium partnership created in Chile with Codelo-SQM deal

31-05-2024 18:37 Chile's state-owned copper giant Codelco signed a deal Friday with SQM to nearly double the private mining firm’s current extraction of lithium.

MILEI MEETS MUSK

President Milei meets Elon Musk at Tesla factory in Austin

12-04-2024 14:52 Argentina’s President flies from Miami to Texas for a meeting with SpaceX boss Elon Musk at his Telsa factory in Austin; X owner gives Javier Milei tour of building as photos of encounter go viral online.

ANALYSING ARGENTINA

Who wants to ‘exploit’ Argentina?

30-03-2024 06:43 The business establishment, here and abroad, are keeping a close eye on whether Milei and his team can deliver on governance – and whether they can do it soon.

by Marcelo J. García

Lithium in Latin America

Chile unveils lithium salt flats it plans to lease to private companies

27-03-2024 14:36 Chile unveiled salt flats that will be opened up to lithium mining as part of a plan to double production of the battery metal over the next decade under a new public-private model.

Lithium in Argentina

Lithium permit freeze limited to new projects, says Catamarca

15-03-2024 14:10 Catamarca Province says court ruling to halt the awarding of lithium permits only affects new projects, leaving other firms free to continue producing the metal.

Bloomberg

US Treasury Secretary Yellen praises Chile’s policies in visit to lithium-rich ally

01-03-2024 16:42 US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday lavished praise on Chile during a visit focused on critical minerals.

Lithium in Argentina

India signs lithium mining deal with Argentina

16-01-2024 07:49 Indian state firm signs lithium mining deal with Catamarca Province; Five-block deal agreed between Khanij Bidesh India and Argentina's state-owned Camyen SE.

ELECTION 2023

Debt, inflation and the peso: Argentina's election worries

17-10-2023 12:27 As Argentines head to the polls on October 22 for a crucial presidential election, candidates have campaigned hard on proposed elixirs for the country's economic ills.

Bloomberg

Billionaire Paolo Rocca has a Plan B for lithium if alpha bid fails

11-10-2023 08:10 Billionaire Paolo Rocca’s oil drilling unit will enter the lithium business one way or another.

Bloomberg

Argentina seeks to tax lithium boom to avoid region’s resource curse

02-10-2023 11:57 Provincial and federal officials want to tap the profits of lithium companies with an annual tax that would be put toward building infrastructure.

Lithium in Argentina

Lithium boom in Argentina hinges on politics, Zijin unit says

27-09-2023 19:05 Hurdles to lithium development in neighbouring Chile and Bolivia have opened the door for Argentina, says top industry official

Lithium in Latin America

Start-up summit Nanotech eyes US$150 million funding for a new way to mine lithium

07-09-2023 12:46 Summit Nanotech Corp, a Canadian start-up working on a way to hasten extraction of lithium from South American salt flats, plans to raise US$150 million to take the technology to commercial scale.

Lithium demand

Lithium players race for breakthrough to meet electric car demand

30-08-2023 11:50 Dozens of firms aim to prove sceptics wrong as they push ahead with new lithium extraction methods.

Bloomberg

China’s Zijin is in talks with Argentina to turn lithium into battery cathode

11-07-2023 17:46 China’s Zijin Mining Group is in advanced talks to build a plant in Catamarca that will turn some of the nation’s huge lithium reserves into cathodes used to make electric-vehicle batteries.

Lithium and Argentina

Argentina to buy lithium from Livent for battery production

02-07-2023 10:51 Argentina will buy locally-produced lithium from US company Livent Corp to produce cells and batteries in a new plant set to start operating in September.

Lithium in Latin America

China, Russia pledge US$1.4 billion for lithium plants in Bolivia

30-06-2023 10:41 China's Citic Guoan and Russia's Uranium One Group will partner with Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos to install two lithium carbonate plants.

INTERVIEW

Latin America bank eyes finance 'umbrella' role for Amazon rainforest

20-06-2023 15:51 Inter-American Development Bank wants to play a central role as an "umbrella" organisation coordinating climate-related projects in the vulnerable rainforest, says new chief Ilan Goldfajni.

Lithium sector

Argentina’s growing lithium industry hits export records

17-06-2023 13:50 Argentina's lithium industry hit a record high with exports rising to US$60 million in May, up 17% from the same month a year ago.

Dinesh Bhatia interview

India supports Argentina’s bid to join BRICS, says ambassador

03-06-2023 06:15 India’s envoy in Argentina, Dinesh Bhatia, discusses trade deficits, defence opportunities, lithium and gas collaboration and the importance of cultural ties.

by Api Dhadda