Mining giant Rio Tinto agreed to take over Arcadium Lithium in a deal worth $6.7 billion. It secures a lithium chemicals business with capabilities in lithium chemicals manufacturing and extraction processes. These include hard-rock mining, conventional brine extraction and direct lithium extraction (DLE).
Arcadium’s current annual production, including lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate, amounts to 75,000 tonnes, with plans to double that by end-2028.
Analysts said the real prize for Rio is accessing Arcadium’s expertise in DLE. They believe the DLE industry is expected to grow to more than $10 billion in annual revenue within the next decade by supplying lithium for EV batteries in hours or days. Existing large, water-intensive evaporation ponds and open pit mines take months to produce the material.
The deal is expected to close in mid-2025.