Lithium supply: Posco to build $830m plant in Argentina - Nikkei...

Lithium supply: Posco to build $830m plant in Argentina - Nikkei Asia

SEOUL -- Leading South Korean steelmaker Posco will spend $830 million on lithium production in Argentina as it seeks to become a major supplier of electric vehicle battery materials.

The steelmaker will build a plant near the Hombre Muerto salt pan, an Andes Mountains site that is a rich source of lithium.

The facility will be capable of extracting roughly 25,000 tons of lithium hydroxide a year, enough to make batteries for 600,000 EVs, the company said Thursday.

The decision to invest in a full-scale lithium production follows the start of a pilot plant where Posco is accumulating know-how.

Posco sees battery materials as a future cornerstone of growth. The group is putting together a supply chain that spans mining interests to production of electrode materials. Earlier this month, Posco said that it will build a battery material factory in North America jointly with General Motors.

Construction of the Argentine plant will start in the first half of next year, with operation slated to begin in the first half of 2024. Posco will consider additional investments to double the plant's output capacity after assessing demand.

Posco purchased mining rights in the Salar del Hombre Muerto in 2018. Later exploration found 13.5 million tons of lithium hydroxide deposits, more than six times the original estimate.

Apart from Argentina, Posco has invested in a graphite project in Tanzania, as well as in lithium mining interests in Australia. Graphite is a material for electrodes.

In South Korea, the group is expanding a cathode material plant in the city of Gwangyang, as well as an anode material plant in Sejong.