Foreign Minister Diana Mondino held a working meeting on 12 March with the CEO of Rio Tinto, Jakob Stausholm, who is visiting our country. Sinead Kaufman, Managing Director of Minerals; Paula Uribe, Director of Foreign Affairs, Latin America; and Guillermo Caló, General Director of the Rincón Project, also participated in the meeting.
Mr. Stausholm highlighted the importance that the company attaches to its operations in Argentina, both for its mineral reserves and resources, as well as for its potential international competitiveness.
In what represents its first project into the field, Rio Tinto is in the process of establishing a pilot plant for lithium carbonate for batteries. The project is underway, and the product would begin to be marketed at the end of this year. In this regard, Stausholm highlighted the hiring of local employees both in Salta and Buenos Aires and the intensive use of local content in the company’s operations. He also explained that the company is already evaluating the expansion of its operations in the province of Salta, what would allow a very significant increase in production.
Reference was also made to the participation of the Rio Tinto company in the Los Azules copper project in the province of San Juan.
Before concluding the meeting, Minister Mondino conveyed to the CEO of Rio Tinto the Foreign Ministry’s firm commitment to continue promoting the attraction of investments to boost the Argentine economy and contribute to increasing the level of activity.
With more than 150 years of mining and 57,000 employees in 35 countries, the Anglo-Australian multinational Rio Tinto is the second largest mining company in the world. It owns 17 mineral mines in Australia, 7 hydroelectric plants in Canada, and 14 aluminum smelters in different cities around the globe. In recent years, it has made major investment announcements, primarily in Australia and Canada. Rio Tinto resumed its activities in the country in 2022.
