Mining giant Rio Tinto eyes Canada in hunt for top-tier lithium property
Mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd. “would love” to produce lithium in Canada, given the right project, says chief executive Jakob Stausholm.
Rio doesn’t currently produce lithium, but Stausholm, speaking at one of the world’s largest mining conventions in Toronto on March 3, said the miner is keen on building a lithium business and is on the hunt for a top-tier property. He said he believes lithium is more likely to dominate the battery market in the future than other metals such as nickel and cobalt.
“We would like to grow lithium, but what’s clear is that lithium is abundant in this world,” Stausholm said at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention. “And, therefore, you have seen a very volatile (market). Sometimes very high prices, and now prices have gone down so far.”
Lithium is expected to play a key role in the energy transition away from fossil fuels since it’s used to build batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). Several miners are exploring lithium projects in Canada, but there is just one major company — North American Lithium Inc., which is owned by Sayona Mining Ltd. and Piedmont Lithium Inc. — producing the mineral in the country.
The metal’s price rose manyfold in 2022 and early 2023 on the expected rise in EV demand. But prices have plummeted in the past year due to an increase in supplies, subdued Chinese demand and a poor EV market. The price of lithium carbonate is down more than 70 per cent from the same time last year.
Rio in 2023 dipped its toes into Canada’s lithium exploration industry by signing two agreements. In July, it signed an option agreement for about $115.7 million with Longueuil, Que.-based Azimut Exploration Inc., giving it the opportunity to own at least 75 per cent of
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