Argentina's president, Javier Milei, and Catamarca governor Raúl Jalil joined Rio Tinto CEO Simon Trott to mark the official opening of two lithium projects in Catamarca province. Both reached first production in the second quarter, ahead of plan, and are now ramping up.
The two sites
- Fénix 1B adds 10,000 tonnes a year of LCE capacity to Fénix, bringing the site's total target to about 40,000 tonnes. Fénix began production in 1997 as Argentina's first commercial lithium operation.
- Sal de Vida is a new lithium carbonate operation about 20 km northeast of Fénix, with a target of 15,000 tonnes a year.
Rio Tinto also has lithium operations and projects in Jujuy and Salta, including the Rincon project. electrive says Rincon is expected to reach a long-term capacity of 60,000 tonnes a year, with commercial operations set to start in 2028.
What they said
Trott said the projects show the company executing «with discipline towards our global target of 200,000 tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent annual production capacity by 2028». Milei called the Fénix expansion «a historic milestone that demonstrates the potential of Argentina's mining sector».