News of mining

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.

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.

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.

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.

Mendoza makes a play for copper in Argentina mining revival

31-05-2024 11:50 Mendoza Province is moving to spur exploration of its copper deposits long shunned by prospectors due to restrictions and red tape.

Copper frenzy draws mining giants to Argentina after Milei’s reforms

23-05-2024 00:01 Milei government tries to lure global mining heavyweights; President must convince companies that their projects are safe and lay down rules for doing business.

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.

Roads, farming threaten Ecuador 'lost city' complex

14-02-2024 06:37 The remains of a massive 2,500-year-old network of Ecuadorean cities are being threatened by road and farm encroachment just as its long-held secrets are being revealed.

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 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

Milei would unshackle Argentine farming, oil sectors

17-08-2023 14:56 Shock election-race leader Javier Milei would scrap soy taxes; He’d also privatise shale driller YPF and ditch EV battery bid.

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.

Illegal mining booms in Brazilian Amazon 'promised land'

09-05-2023 16:15 Illegal mines, pulling resources from protected lands in the Amazon, make around US$800 per metric ton of copper they sell on the black market, incentivising the risky trade.

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.

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

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.

'Operation Exodus': Brazil miners flee Yanomami land

09-02-2023 10:14 President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva orders Brazil's military to establish a no-fly zone around the Yanomami reservation, where indigenous leaders say illegal miners have poisoned the water with mercury, destroyed the rainforest and raped and killed inhabitants.

Australian billionaire eyes investment in Argentina energy or mining

01-02-2023 23:50 Australian billionaire James Packer explored investment options during a dinner late last year at a race track in Buenos Aires with businessmen and politicians including Economy Minister Sergio Massa, according to sources.