A Chinese mining giant and a Swiss-based lithium producer agreed on Tuesday to develop one of South America’s largest projects to extract lithium from saline water, intensifying the race for metals vital to electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.
“This alliance will provide access to advanced technologies, greater financial flexibility and significant operational synergies,” Lithium Argentina president and chief executive Sam Pigott said in a statement. He added that it would strengthen the company’s global lithium supply chain strategy.
The venture in Argentina aims to produce the equivalent of 150,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year, a standard measure used to compare different forms of the mineral.
Ganfeng is China’s largest lithium producer, while Lithium Argentina specialises in high-altitude brine extraction in the nation’s northwest.
