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Rio Tinto Ships First Lithium From Salta’s Rincón Project as It Secures $1.175 Billion in Funding

A financing package anchored by a $400 million IFC loan positions the Argentine operation to scale toward roughly 60,000 tonnes a year with an initial production train slated for 2028.

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Rio Tinto consiguió US$1175 millones de financiamiento para avanzar con el desarrollo del proyecto de litio Rincón, en Salta
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La primera producción en Río Tinto está prevista para 2028.

Overview

  • Rio Tinto completed its first commercial export from Rincón, sending 200 tonnes of lithium carbonate in 10 containers from the Port of Buenos Aires to a company warehouse in Shanghai.
  • The company said the $1.175 billion package comes from IFC, IDB Invest, Export Finance Australia and JBIC, with the IFC’s $400 million loan publicly confirmed.
  • Construction and site works are underway, with the first production train targeted for 2028 and a plan to ramp to full capacity over the following three years in a project with an estimated 40‑year life.
  • Rincón is being developed toward approximately 53,000–60,000 tonnes per year of battery‑grade lithium carbonate, according to company projections.
  • Rio Tinto has applied to join Argentina’s RIGI incentive regime for a roughly $2.7 billion expansion and met with the NOA governors in New York, where it noted it now exports lithium from Catamarca, Jujuy and Salta.