Rio Tinto announced initial Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves for the Salar del Rincon lithium brine deposits (Rincon Project) in Argentina to be developed by Rio Tinto. Mineral Resources inclusive of Ore Reserves comprise 1.54 Mt Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) of Measured Resources, 7.85 Mt LCE of Indicated Resources and 2.29 Mt LCE of Inferred Resources. The Ore Reserves comprise 2.07 Mt LCE of Probable Ore Reserves.

Rio Tinto's ownership percentage is 100%. The proposed project consists of brine extraction using a production wellfield, processing and waste facilities, as well as associated infrastructure. Full-scale production based on the current feasibility study is estimated to be approximately 53 kt of battery grade lithium carbonate per year for a period of 40 years.

However, plans are in place to build for a capacity of 60 kt of battery grade lithium carbonate per year with debottlenecking and improvement programs scheduled to unlock this additional throughput, subject to permitting. The Rincon 3000 starter plant is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2025. Rincon is a large, long-life asset that is expected to be in the first quartile of the cash cost curve.