Rio Tinto has been named the preferred development partner for the Salares Altoandinos lithium project in Chile by Empresa Nacional de Minería (ENAMI).
Situated in the Atacama region, Salares Altoandinos is the greenfield project with the largest amount of lithium resources in Chile.
In April, the project was confirmed to have a lithium resource totalling 3.05 million tonnes. The amount is expected to increase Chile’s total lithium resources by 28 per cent.
Building off this significance, ENAMI has chosen Rio Tinto as the development partner for Salares Altoandinos, beating out BYD Chile SpA, Eramet Chile SA and POSCO in the negotiation phase.
“We are honoured to have been selected by ENAMI as the preferred partner for the Salares Altoandinos project, which has the potential to be a world-class lithium development,” Rio Tinto chief executive officer Jakob Stausholm said.
“We welcome the opportunity to develop our partnership with ENAMI, building on our interests in Nuevo Cobre and Salar de Maricunga, and to support Chile’s position as one of the world’s leading producers of minerals critical to the energy transition.”
Rio Tinto will acquire an initial 51 per cent stake in Salares Altoandinos, with ENAMI holding the balance.
Rio Tinto plans to invest $US350 million Salares Altoandinos to fund additional studies and resource analysis to progress towards a final investment decision (FID), with an additional $US500 million committed to construction costs if the project proceeds to development.
Additionally, a further $US50 million will be invested if the joint venture achieves first lithium production by the end of 2030.
The proposed transaction is subject to the signature of binding agreements, receipt of all regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Earlier this week, Rio Tinto partnered with Corporación Nacional Del Cobre de Chile (Codelco) to develop and operate the Salar de Maricunga lithium project, also located in the Atacama region.
Salares Altoandinos and Salar de Maricunga are part of Rio Tinto’s plans to grow its lithium base following its $US6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium, now known as Rio Tinto Lithium.
At the 2025 Bank of America Global Metals, Mining and Steel Conference last week, Stausholm said Rio Tinto is “the world’s second largest holder of lithium” and is expanding its pipeline of lithium projects to meet growing demand.
Aiding this goal is the Rincon project in Argentina, which received approval for a $2.5 billion expansion in December 2024 and is set to be the company’s first lithium mine.
Construction of the Rincon expansion project is scheduled to begin in mid-2025, subject to permitting, and first production is expected to take place in 2028.
Rio Tinto is also progressing project works at the Fenix expansion project and the Sal de Vida project, both in Argentina and targeting a 2027 planned first production, as well as the Nemaska project in Canada, which is anticipating a 2028 planned first production.
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