News of 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

Lithium in Latin America

Emerging lithium supplier Argentina says it’s close to US deal under IRA

24-05-2023 09:41 Argentina, one of the world’s fastest-growing lithium producers, says it could soon gain access to the US market.

Lithium in Latin America

Peru sees lithium mining opportunity in Chile’s statist plan

28-04-2023 11:14 Peru seeking a more active role in trying to lure lithium mining investments in light of Chile’s decision to take state control of all new projects of battery metal.

MINING & INDUSTRY

Lithium boom delivers job growth to Argentina’s mining industry

28-03-2023 15:09 National industry industry has now recorded 28 consecutive months of job creation growth, with more than 37,000 workers now employed in the sector.

UNITED NATIONS

UN report criticises ‘structural discrimination’ against Argentina's indigenous

23-03-2023 17:43 United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights highlights repeated “evictions and violent interventions” in new report.

by Api Dhadda

Lithium in Latin America

Government moves to stop wetlands bill from foiling lithium boom

07-03-2023 13:07 Government in talks with firms, policy makers to prevent wetlands-protection bill from slamming brakes on lithium exploration.

Copper boom?

Argentina’s copper rush lures top power generator Central Puerto

07-03-2023 11:11 One of Argentina’s biggest power producers is trying to get in on the nation’s copper boom as the rush for key metals in the global energy transition accelerates.

Lithium in Latin America

South America steps up efforts to turn lithium into batteries

06-03-2023 14:22 Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Brazil plan to coordinate action on turning more of the region’s mined lithium into battery chemicals, as well as moving into manufacturing of batteries and EVs.

LITHIUM MINING

Rio battles high-bidding carmakers in hunt for lithium deals

22-02-2023 12:12 Rio Tinto Group, one of the world’s most profitable companies, faces a tough battle to grow its lithium business, with some of the biggest carmakers seeming to be willing to outbid it for a “very expensive” price.