China’s Ganfeng to develop major lithium project in Argentina with Swiss partner

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.

China’s Ganfeng Lithium will join with Lithium Argentina, based in Zug, Switzerland, to merge three neighbouring brine deposits in Argentina’s Salta province into a single operation.

“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 announcement comes as CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, shut its Jianxiawo mine in China on Monday after its permit expired. The mine, the biggest in the lithium hub of Yichun, produces about 6 per cent of global supply. The closure pushed up international prices for the mineral used in batteries, easing concerns over a supply glut.

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.