Rio Tinto ups its lithium bet with $900m investment in Chilean JV

Move comes despite protracted slump in prices for the battery ingredient

20250520 Salar de Maricunga

Rio Tinto plans to invest in Salar de Maricunga, in Chile's lithium-rich Atacama Desert salt flats, as part of its strategy to be a leading supplier of materials for the clean energy transition. © AP

SHAUN TURTON

SYDNEY -- Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto will invest $900 million in a joint venture with Chilean state-owned Codelco, expanding its lithium interests despite a protracted slump in prices for the key battery metal.

Rio said on Tuesday that the brine project in Salar de Maricunga, in Chile's lithium-rich Atacama Desert salt flats, is in line with its broader strategy to be a leading supplier of materials for the clean energy transition.

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