Rio Tinto Partners with Chile's ENAMI to Develop Lithium Project

Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Rio Tinto (London, England) will partner with Chile's state-owned Empresa Nacional de Minería (ENAMI) (Santiago, Chile) to develop the Salares Altoandinos lithium project. This is the Australian miner's second lithium agreement in Chile.

The Salares Altoandinos lithium project covers the La Isla, Aguilar and Grande salt flats, in the Atacama region of northern Chile. Rio Tinto will acquire 51% of the stakes in the project, with ENAMI holding the remaining 49%. However, the agreement between the companies is still pending regulatory approvals. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Mining & Minerals Project and Plant databases can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.

As part of the deal, Rio Tinto will provide an estimated US$425 million in cash and non-cash contributions, such as its direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, acquired through the purchase of Arcadium Lithium earlier this year.

The overall investment for the Salares Altoandinos project is estimated at roughly US$3 billion. The project has reserves of over 15 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), and it is expected to have a production capacity of 75,000 tons of LCE per year.

The companies will conduct pre-feasibility and feasibility studies on the new project before making a final investment decision.

The Salares Altoandinos salt flat was reserved for state-controlled companies as part of the government's national lithium strategy, launched in 2023. Under the plan, the state would maintain control, through state mining companies, of specific salt flats, while another set of salt flats would be open for private investments.

So far, dozens of companies have shown interest in developing the lithium areas that have been opened for private development.

In May, Rio Tinto closed a deal with Codelco, another Chilean state company, to jointly develop the Maricunga salt flat, also reserved for state development. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report.

In the last few months, Rio Tinto has stepped forward as a major player in the lithium sector with Arcadium's acquisition, its development of the Rincon project in Argentina, and the two agreements closed in Chile.

This year, the Australian miner has gone from advancing on its Jadar project in Serbia and Rincon (ID) in Argentina to owning the Olaroz, Fenix, Sal de Vida and Cauchari mines in Argentina and holding stakes at Salares Altoandinos and the Maricunga salt flats in Chile.

Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Jadar and Rincon projects, and can read detailed profiles of the Olaroz, Fenix, Sal de Vida and Cauchari plants.

"We welcome the opportunity to develop our partnership with ENAMI, building on our interests in Nuevo Cobre and Salar de Maricunga, and to support Chile's position as one of the world's leading producers of minerals critical to the energy transition," said Jakob Stausholm, the chief executive officer of Rio Tinto, in a press release.

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