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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":694,"relatedVideos":695},112473116573388,"1a7311f9-5a6b-4f09-8eda-8af866fcaabf","Rio bets on direct lithium extraction in $825 million Argentina deal","rio-bets-on-direct-lithium-extraction-in-825-million-argentina-deal","article/rio-bets-on-direct-lithium-extraction-in-825-million-argentina-deal",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":553,"content":563,"excerpt":673,"featured":50,"reporter":674,"_editable":678,"component":679,"seo_title":543,"categories":680,"visibility":686,"author_company":49,"featured_image":687,"seo_description":673,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":692,"formattedArticleDate":693},"c30175be-6eb0-44fc-b31b-1ab7fd793b27","2021-12-22 00:00",[550],{"slug":551,"name":552},"argentina","Argentina",[554],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":557},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":558,"image":559,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":560},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":564,"content":565},"doc",[566,583,588,593,598,603,610,615,620,625,630,635,655,660,665,670],{"type":567,"attrs":568,"content":569},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[570,573,581],{"text":571,"type":572},"Rio Tinto has agreed to buy a lithium brine project in Argentina for $825 million, in a deal that expands its presence in the battery supply chain just as mass protests have cast uncertainty over","text",{"text":574,"type":572,"marks":575}," its planned lithium mine in Serbia",[576],{"type":577,"attrs":578},"link",{"href":579,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":580},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-commits-2-4bn-to-arrive-at-lithiums-main-stage","url",{"text":582,"type":572},".",{"type":567,"attrs":584,"content":585},{"textAlign":49},[586],{"text":587,"type":572},"The Anglo Australian iron ore miner said the purchase of the Salar del Rincón project in Salta province from the private equity group Sentient Equity Partners showed its “commitment to build its battery materials business.”",{"type":567,"attrs":589,"content":590},{"textAlign":49},[591],{"text":592,"type":572},"It comes as Rio’s $2.4 billion Jadar lithium project in Serbia faces possible delays following a wave of protests across the country in recent weeks. Thousands of people have blocked roads and bridges to protest against the project, which Rio says will produce up to 58,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate by the end of the decade.",{"type":567,"attrs":594,"content":595},{"textAlign":49},[596],{"text":597,"type":572},"The Rincon purchase gives Rio access to a potentially low-cost source of lithium with a lower carbon footprint than other mining operations.",{"type":567,"attrs":599,"content":600},{"textAlign":49},[601],{"text":602,"type":572},"“The Rincon project holds the potential to deliver a significant new supply of battery-grade lithium carbonate, to capture the opportunity offered by the rising demand driven by the global energy transition,” Rio’s chief executive Jakob Stausholm said.",{"type":604,"attrs":605,"content":607},"heading",{"level":606,"textAlign":49},4,[608],{"text":609,"type":572},"Rincon says can recover over 90% lithium with its technology",{"type":567,"attrs":611,"content":612},{"textAlign":49},[613],{"text":614,"type":572},"The deal is also a bet on a new lithium extraction technology being trialed at Rincon, which can produce lithium carbonate from brine with relatively low concentrations of lithium and high levels of impurities such as magnesium.",{"type":567,"attrs":616,"content":617},{"textAlign":49},[618],{"text":619,"type":572},"Rincon says it uses an absorbent resin to extract lithium from brine pumped from wells in the salt flats. The company says it can recover over 90% of the lithium in the brine. The lithium solution is further concentrated via reverse osmosis, and reagents are used to remove impurities such as magnesium and calcium, which are then dissolved in hydrochloric acid.",{"type":567,"attrs":621,"content":622},{"textAlign":49},[623],{"text":624,"type":572},"Rincon has built a pilot plant on the site to test the technology and says the results have been “positive.” The company has said a commercial plant could produce over 50,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate at a cost of $770 million to build.",{"type":567,"attrs":626,"content":627},{"textAlign":49},[628],{"text":629,"type":572},"The Rincon brine has a grade of less than 400 milligrams of lithium per liter which is on the lower end for Argentina. The concentration of magnesium is almost ten times the amount of lithium per litre, according to the mineral reserve estimates.",{"type":567,"attrs":631,"content":632},{"textAlign":49},[633],{"text":634,"type":572},"The Rio deal brings western mining capital into the battery supply chain, and follows China’s Zijin Mining’s $712 million purchase of Neo Lithium, which is developing a lithium project in Argentina’s Catamarca province, in October.",{"type":567,"attrs":636,"content":637},{"textAlign":49},[638,640,646,648,654],{"text":639,"type":572},"This year over $1 billion has already been invested in lithium projects in Argentina. Canadian miner Lithium Americas agreed to acquire ",{"text":641,"type":572,"marks":642},"Argentina-focused developer Millennial Lithium",[643],{"type":577,"attrs":644},{"href":645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":580},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/millennial-lithium-bidding-war-shows-scramble-for-argentinian-lithium",{"text":647,"type":572}," for $400 million in November while ",{"text":649,"type":572,"marks":650},"China’s Tsingshan agreed to invest $375 million to build a lithium plant with France’s Eramet",[651],{"type":577,"attrs":652},{"href":653,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":580},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-tsingshan-expands-battery-footprint-with-eramet-lithium-deal",{"text":582,"type":572},{"type":567,"attrs":656,"content":657},{"textAlign":49},[658],{"text":659,"type":572},"Benchmark expects Argentina to produce almost as much lithium as its neighbor Chile by the end of the decade, due to the wave of investment into the country.",{"type":567,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":572},"Rio said once it had acquired Rincon it would work to secure updates to existing Environmental Impact Assessment Permits to allow development and production. It would also “undertake ongoing engagement with communities, the province of Salta and the Government of Argentina.”",{"type":567,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":572},"“This consultation process will ensure we build a world class operation in the province of Salta,” it said.",{"type":567,"attrs":671,"content":672},{"textAlign":49},[],"Rio Tinto has agreed to buy a lithium brine project in Argentina for $825 million, in a deal that expands its presence in the battery supply chain just as mass protests have cast uncertainty over its planned lithium mine in Serbia. The Anglo Australian iron ore miner said the purchase of the Salar del Rincón […]",[675],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":676},{"job_title":558,"image":677,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},{"filename":560},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c30175be-6eb0-44fc-b31b-1ab7fd793b27\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[681,684],{"slug":682,"name":683},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":685,"name":8},"lithium","private",{"id":49,"alt":688,"name":688,"focus":688,"title":688,"source":688,"filename":689,"copyright":688,"fieldtype":690,"meta_data":691,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b7642588d0/bm-shutterstock-5743710221.jpg","asset",{"alt":688,"title":688,"source":688,"copyright":688},"Dec 22, 2021","22nd December 2021",[],[],1780670084958]