Atlas Lithium shares rise on new discovery at Salinas project
The company announced the discovery of spodumene-rich pegmatites at its lithium project in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The company announced the discovery of spodumene-rich pegmatites at its lithium project in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Environmental groups warned they would stage more protests if parliament blocked the opposition proposal.
The deal would vault Rio into one of the world's largest suppliers of the battery metal, behind only Albemarle and SQM.
The acquisition talk comes as Rio faces challenges in developing its Jadar lithium project in Serbia.
Africa's top lithium producer had last year given producers up to March 2024 to submit plans of how they would produce the metal.
The project hosts 50.4 million inferred tonnes grading 1% Li2O for 506,000 tonnes of Li2O.
Africa's top producer of lithium has attracted over $1 billion investment from Sinomine and its Chinese peers.
The company says the acquisition will accelerate the development of its lithium metal vanadium battery.
Rio's partnership with UK refinery developer Green Lithium seeks to reduce European dependence on supplies from China.
The company's Zimbabwean unit plans to build a $500 million lithium refinery in the next 3-5 years, even as the company currently loses money.