Codelco, Rio Tinto push forward lithium venture, easing jitters

Codelco and Rio Tinto Group are progressing as planned with their Chilean lithium joint venture despite the London-based miner signaling it was slowing its rush into the battery metal, Codelco’s chairman said.

Rio Tinto chief executive officer Simon Trott and Rio’s head of lithium Jerome Pecresse met with Codelco’s Maximo Pacheco in London on Wednesday to discuss the early-stage Maricunga lithium project, as well as the two companies’ copper exploration project in Chile, Pacheco said.

Both companies are aligned on the path forward for those projects, Pacheco said by telephone, adding that the roughly two-hour meeting included a discussion on the lithium extraction technique to be used.

The Codelco chairman’s comments may ease concerns in Chile after Rio mothballed a lithium project in Serbia and Trott said at an event Thursday he’d take a “phased approach” to a metal that’s seen a supply glut drag down prices. Trott in August replaced Jakob Stausholm with a mandate for a greater focus on mining operations and a more disciplined approach to spending.

Stausholm had championed lithium, overseeing a major acquisition and signing partnerships with both Codelco and another Chilean state mining company, Enami, to potentially develop new operations in Chile.

In May, Rio agreed to invest as much as to $900 million in Maricunga, although that’s subject to various approvals and a final investment decision.

Trott told investors in London Thursday lithium would become a significant business for Rio, showing slides that referred to the Chilean projects as “options.”

Rio Tinto didn’t immediately comment on the meeting with Codelco.

In an interview last week, Enami CEO Ivan Mlynarz said its Altoandinos venture with Rio Tinto was progressing. “There is no condition that would require stopping it,” he said.

(By James Attwood)