...Rio isn't investing in home grown lithium project.
....Why? The elephant in the room - CO$T!!
Rio to invest $2.5b to expand Argentinian lithium project
Nicola Blackburn, Mark Wembridge
Rio Tinto has shrugged off concerns over the dismal lithium price by committing US$2.5 billion to expand its Rincon project in South America.
Rincon will be Rio’s first commercial-scale lithium operation, and the ASX-listed miner has set an increased annual production target of 60,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate for the Argentina-based project.
Rincon will use direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, which can be lower cost compared with the hard rock producers that predominate across Australia.
Construction of Rio Tinto’s expanded Rincon plant is scheduled to begin in 2025, subject to permits, with first production expected in 2028.
Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm said the mining giant saw the “attractive long-term outlook for lithium driven by the energy transition” but was committed to building out the Rincon project “at the low end of the cost curve”.
