Rio Tinto agrees to invest up to $900m for half of Codelco’s Maricunga lithium project

Rio Tinto will take 49.99% of the company holding Codelco’s Salar de Maricunga licences in Chile. It will fund $350m of studies, $500m of construction costs after a go-ahead decision and a further $50m if first lithium arrives by the end of 2030.

Why it matters. Earning into a project by funding its costs is a common way for a major to partner with a state-owned company.

Source

Rio Tinto

In the course

Module 7: Funding a project