LAS VEGAS, June 23 - Rio Tinto is positioning its lithium business as the fastest-growing arm of the company, targeting a significant expansion to serve electric vehicle and battery storage markets, an executive said on the sidelines of an industry conference.
The mining group, which moved into the lithium sector with last year’s acquisition of U.S.-based Arcadium, is working to scale production to a capacity of 200,000 metric tons by 2028 if market demand materializes. For this year, the company expects to produce at least 61,000 metric tons.
Arcadium brought Rio access to mining, processing facilities and deposits spanning four continents and added a customer roster that includes Tesla. Rio has been integrating those assets while navigating a period of weak prices that followed a lithium price collapse attributed in part to oversupply from China. The market downturn prompted a wave of industry layoffs and has only recently begun to ease.
Jérôme Pécresse, who leads Rio’s aluminum and lithium unit, said the company is advancing new mine projects in Argentina and Canada that it believes can remain economical even if prices fall again. "We want to show that we can build on time and on budget," Pécresse said, adding that delivering projects as planned occupies roughly 90% of his time.
Pécresse emphasized that Rio’s plan is to bring into production only low-cost assets and to supply customers under long-term contracts, many of which include price floors and ceilings designed to protect both miners and buyers. That contracting approach reflects a focus on predictable unit economics and stable customer relationships rather than aggressive market share grabs.
He characterized the lithium sector as being in a formative growth phase compared with established commodities, noting the material’s rapid transition from a niche input to a broadly demanded industrial building block. "It’s a market that is trying to find itself, in a way," Pécresse said.
Asked about potential merger discussions between Rio and Glencore, Pécresse declined to comment, citing a six-month standstill regime that runs until August.
A substantial portion of Rio’s planned lithium expansion rests on its investment in direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, which was a primary rationale for the Arcadium acquisition. Pécresse said he anticipates one of Rio’s DLE projects to begin operations within a few years. He added that the company is not actively pursuing additional lithium acquisitions at this time, noting satisfaction with the Arcadium portfolio.
"We’re pretty happy with the Arcadium assets," he said, also mentioning that he personally drives a hybrid vehicle. He reiterated the company’s road map to reach the 200,000 metric tons-per-year production capacity target by 2028.
While the Arcadium deal and the planned production ramp could make Rio one of the larger producers of lithium globally, Pécresse said becoming the top producer is not a stated objective. Albemarle remains the leading global producer, he said, and Rio’s strategy is to build a collection of assets large enough to ensure the company is relevant to customers rather than to chase a specific ranking. "We don’t have a strategy to be number one or, say, number three," he said. "Our strategy is to have a set of assets that are big enough to give us relevance with customers."
Context and commercial approach
Rio’s lithium ambition is built on three interlocking elements described by the executive: integrating Arcadium’s global asset base, selectively developing low-cost mines with an eye to price volatility, and deploying DLE technology where it can improve economics. The company’s emphasis on long-term contracts with price protection mechanisms underlines a commercial approach focused on stable unit economics and manageable margin exposure.
Executives at the conference framed the expansion in pragmatic terms: grow capacity where projects can be constructed on time and on budget, and ensure those projects can operate economically in weaker pricing environments.
This article summarizes comments given at the Fastmarkets Global Lithium, Battery and Critical Materials Conference in Las Vegas and reflects the company’s public production targets and strategic priorities as stated by its aluminum and lithium business head.