On Wednesday, Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) has unveiled the initial resource and reserve estimates for its Salar del Rincon lithium brine project in Salta, Argentina. With this project underway, Rio Tinto is strengthening its operations in a quickly growing mining market, where it established a foothold with an acquisition of Arcadium Lithium.
The firm reported Rincon to contain 1.54 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in measured resources, 7.85 million tons of LCE in indicated resources, and an additional 2.29 million tons in inferred resources. The ore reserves include 2.07 million tons of LCE in the probable category.
Located in the "Lithium Triangle," which spans Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, the Rincon project represents a long-term asset for Rio Tinto.
The operation should produce 53,000 tons of battery-grade lithium annually for 40 years, with a potential expansion of up to 60,000. The Rincon 3000 starter plant is on track for completion by mid-2025.
In contrast to the controversial Jadar project in Serbia, which contains lithium in mineral form, Rincon's lithium is in brine, allowing for the application of advanced technologies like direct lithium extraction (DLE).
Argentina, the world's fourth-largest lithium producer, exported $835 million of lithium in 2023, comprising 20.8% of its total mining exports. Nearly half of this lithium was supplied to China for electric vehicle batteries and other technologies.
President Javier Milei, who took office in December 2023, has aggressively promoted pro-investment policies, offering tax and customs incentives to attract foreign mining firms, like McEwen Mining, investing billions into a cornerstone copper project.
Milei's government aims to capitalize on Argentina's vast mineral reserves, facilitating the rapid development of over 40 preliminary lithium projects.
Earlier this year, Rio Tinto acquired Arcadium Lithium – the operator of the largest Argentinian lithium Fenix project – which produced 22,000 tons, nearly half of the country's 50,000 tons last year.
However, despite management's efforts to further diversify the firm's global operations, its corporate structure has been criticized. Activist investor Palliser Capital has called on the company to consolidate its dual corporate structure by moving its primary listing from London to Australia.
According to their estimates, as reported by Reuters, this "outdated" structure has lost $50 billion in shareholder value.
"Rio Tinto's approach to M&A (mergers and acquisitions) is both an obvious statistical anomaly and entirely unsustainable going forward," the activist investor warned.
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