News
14/04/26
Argentina to start 8 new lithium projects by 2030
Argentina to start 8 new lithium projects by 2030
Santiago, 14 April (Argus) — Argentinian and foreign companies will commission
eight new, greenfield lithium projects by 2030, more than doubling the country's
installed production capacity. Argentina will add eight new brine-based lithium
projects in the next four years, bringing the country's total installed
production capacity to 409,000 metric tonnes (t) of lithium carbonate equivalent
(LCE) by year-end 2030, according to estimates by Argentina's mining secretary
Luis Lucero at a market event in Chile on 13 March. The figure, which represents
a 157pc increase from this year's 159,000t LCE guidance, would consolidate
Argentina as one of the world's leading lithium producers. Two projects are set
to be commissioned in the coming months: Galan Lithium's 8,000t/yr Hombre Muerto
West (HMW) lithium chloride project and Rio Tinto's 15,000t/yr Sal de Vida
lithium carbonate development. Rio Tinto will also inaugurate, in 2028,
Argentina's largest individual lithium project, Rincón, set to add 60,000t/yr
LCE to the country's production capacity. Three new projects will also debut in
2029, two of them owned by producers not yet established in Latin America. A
joint venture (JV) between Revotech Asia and Xizang Zhufeng Resources will
commission the 10,000t/yr LCE Sal de Los Ángeles project, while Argosy Minerals
will start-up its 12,000t/yr Rincón operation — not to be confused with Rio
Tinto's. A JV between Ganfeng Lithium and Lithium Argentina will also comission
their PPG projects in 2029, which have a combined nameplate capacity of
150,000t/yr LCE. Lake Resources and Lithium Chile will follow in 2030 with their
Kachi and Arizaro projects, expected to add 25,000t/yr each to Argentina's
capacity. All eight projects will, in total, add 305,000t/yr LCE of installed
production capacity. Argentina's actual production will be much lower, however,
as brine projects usually take well over a year to ramp-up to full capacity.
Argentina has seven commercially producing lithium projects, in addition to the
above-mentioned eight, which are in advanced stages. Argentina's incentive
regime focuses on lithium At least two of those projects have already been
approved to participate in Argentina's incentive regime for large investments
(Rigi) , and two additional developments have already applied to it. Argentina's
Rigi grants benefits to approved participants, including exemptions from
value-added and import–export taxes, as well as legal protections that allow
companies to settle disputes in courts outside Argentina. It also guarantees 30
years of legal stability, ensuring that these benefits cannot be revoked by any
future president during that period. Rio Tinto's Rincón and Galán's HMW have
already been selected to the Rigi, while Lithium Argentina-Ganfeng's PPG and
Rio's Sal de Vida are awaiting approval. In total, 10 lithium projects have
applied to Rigi, with three approvals. The developments will invest a combined
$14bn in Argentinian lithium production. By Pedro Consoli Send comments and
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