In a firm step toward the structural transformation of the national productive model, the Government of Javier Milei celebrated the approval of the first mining project under the Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI), one of the cornerstones of the Base Law. The investment, which exceeds USD 2.5 billion, comes from the Anglo-Australian giant Rio Tinto, the second largest mining company in the world, and will be carried out in the province of Salta, in the strategic lithium sector.
The announcement was made this Tuesday afternoon at the ArMinera event by the Secretary of Energy and Mining Coordination of the Ministry of Economy, Daniel González, who highlighted the objective of the RIGI: "The RIGI is to encourage and accelerate investments, not to reward existing ones". With these words, González dispelled speculations and made it clear that there will be no exceptions or "specific RIGIs" for sectors like gold or silver, even if they are requesting it to extend large projects already underway.
Extracción de litio en Salar del Rincón, en Salta, Argentina.
The approved project belongs to Rio Tinto, a company with over 150 years of history and operations in 35 countries, generating about 60,000 jobs globally. In March 2022, the multinational had acquired Rincón Mining for USD 825 million. Since then, it worked on planning a demonstration plant with the capacity to produce 3,000 tons annually of battery-grade lithium carbonate, using direct extraction technology (DLE).
The plant, named "Rincón 3,000", aimed to test under commercial conditions the design, construction, operation, and product quality, as well as train operators and optimize processes before scaling to a larger industrial development.
The real leap came in December 2024, when the Board of Directors of Rio Tinto approved, based on the successful economic reforms of Argentina and the new RIGI, the full development of the project to produce 53,000 tons per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate, becoming one of the most ambitious projects on the continent in the field.
The construction of the commercial plant will begin once the provincial permits in Salta are obtained. If completed without delays, it will mean a reconfiguration of Argentina's role in the global energy transition.
El presidente, Javier Milei y Jakob Stausholm.
The political support for this landing was evident last March, when President Javier Milei received the top executives of Rio Tinto at the Casa Rosada. The meeting was attended by the global CEO Jakob Stausholm; the CEO of Rio Tinto Lithium, Paul Graves; the Director of External Affairs for Latin America, María Paula Uribe; and the company's local representative, Guillermo Enrique Calo. Key cabinet figures were also present: the Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francos; the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo; and the Secretary of Mining, Luis Lucero.
The support from the Executive is significant: days earlier, Rio Tinto had completed the acquisition of Arcadium Lithium for USD 6.7 billion, consolidating itself as one of the world's leading lithium producers. The operation involved not only the absorption of Arcadium's know-how and assets but also the control of two of the six projects currently in production in Argentina, making the company the largest lithium producer in the country.
As a conclusion to the ArMinera event, it was also confirmed that other major players in the sector are closely following the benefits of the RIGI. The Vicuña project, a copper project, is already evaluating its incorporation into the regime. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto announced that it will present two additional projects: Sal de Vida and the expansion of Fénix, both in the province of Catamarca, which promises a sustained path of very high magnitude investments.
From the Argentine Chamber of Mining Companies (CAEM), its president Roberto Cacciola insisted on the need to extend the first stage of the RIGI, in line with the possibility contemplated by the Base Law. The request aims to provide predictability and expand the horizon for the entry of new projects.
