Rio Tinto to pour $2.5b into Rincon

Rio Tinto has laid out grand plans for the Rincon lithium project in Argentina, which has the potential to inject 60,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate into the market per year.

The major has approved $2.5 billion of capital to build a 57,000-tonne expansion plant, with construction to begin in mid-2025. This will complement a 3000-tonne starter plant.

Rincon has a projected mine life of 40 years, with first production expected in 2028 followed by a three-year ramp-up period.

“The attractive long-term outlook for lithium driven by the energy transition underpins our investment in Rincon,” Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm said.

“We are dedicated to developing this Tier 1, world-class resource at scale at the low end of the cost curve. We are equally committed to meeting the highest ESG standards, leveraging our advanced technology to halve the amount of water used in processing, while continuing to grow our mutually beneficial partnerships with local communities and Salta province.”

While Australia is known as the hard-rock capital of the lithium industry, Argentina is a prominent brine player, with Rincon located in the heart of the country’s ‘lithium triangle’.

Rio Tinto is carrying out direct lithium extraction (DLE) at Rincon, which has the potential to significantly increase lithium recoveries when compared to solar evaporation ponds.

DLE technology extracts brine from underground and pumps it to a processing plant where a resin or adsorption material is used to extract the lithium. Spent brine is then reinjected back into aquifers underground.

This is seen as a more environmentally friendly process and has the potential to be more cost-effective than traditional lithium mining methods.

The scale of Rincon has surprised Rio, with the project’s ore reserves 60 per cent higher than the company expected upon acquiring Rincon in early 2022.

Rincon will form part of Rio Tinto’s broader Argentinian portfolio brought on by the acquisition of Arcadium Lithium, which is set to close in mid-2025. This includes the Salar del Hombre Muerto and Olaroz lithium brine operations.