Rio Tinto plans big lithium investment

The mining firm Rio Tinto is planning to invest $2.5 billion into an existing lithium project in Argentina. The facility will use chemical techniques to directly extract lithium from brine. Rio Tinto acquired the project from Rincon Mining for $825 million in 2021. The investment will expand it from a pilot plant producing 3,000 metric tons (t) per year to a full-scale plant producing 60,000 t per year. Rio Tinto agreed in October to purchase Arcadium Lithium for $6.7 billion .