Rio Tinto Secures 51% Stake in Chile’s Salares Altoandinos Lithium Project with Enami Joint Venture
Diversified mining giant Rio Tinto has signed a binding agreement with Chile’s state-owned Empresa Nacional de Minería (Enami) to form a joint venture for the development of the Salares Altoandinos lithium project in Chile’s Atacama region.
Under the agreement, Rio Tinto will become the controlling partner with a 51% stake in the project. The partnership follows Rio’s selection as Enami’s preferred partner on May 23.
As part of the transaction, Rio Tinto will invest up to $425 million in a combination of cash and non-cash contributions, including the use of its proprietary direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology.
The funding will be disbursed in phases, beginning with the sole funding of a pre-feasibility study and additional technical work, contingent upon progress through agreed joint venture milestones.
The companies anticipate closing the deal in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.
“We are continuing to execute our strategy of building a world-class lithium portfolio to position Rio Tinto as a global leader in the responsible supply of critical minerals essential to the energy transition,” said Sinead Kaufmann, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Minerals.
Kaufmann emphasized the significance of the Salares Altoandinos project, calling it “a significant opportunity to develop a large-scale, long-life, low-cost lithium brine resource.”
She also reaffirmed the company’s commitment to environmental standards and community engagement, noting that any potential development will be guided by “transparent, respectful, and ongoing dialogue” with local communities in the Atacama region.
The agreement marks another major step in Rio Tinto’s strategic expansion into lithium. In March 2025, the company completed its $6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium, granting it access to a globally integrated lithium business with decades of commercial DLE experience—a capability few major producers possess at scale.
Rio Tinto is also advancing its lithium operations in Argentina, where it acquired the Rincon project in 2022 for $825 million.
A pilot-scale DLE plant with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes per year was commissioned in late 2024. A $2.5 billion investment has since been approved to expand capacity to 60,000 tonnes per year by 2028.
In Chile, Rio Tinto has additionally committed nearly $900 million to acquire a 49.99% stake in a separate DLE project in partnership with state mining company Codelco, further deepening its presence in one of the world’s most critical lithium-producing regions.
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