力拓今年将在Rincón投资5亿美元

Rio Tinto to invest $500m on Rincón this year

矿业巨头力拓首席财务官Peter Cunningham在财报电话会议上表示，力拓计划今年在阿根廷的Rincón锂矿项目上投入5亿美元。

Mining giant Rio Tinto plans to spend $500 million on its Rincón lithium project in Argentina this year, its chief financial officer Peter Cunningham said in an earnings call.

这家在伦敦上市的公司已批准投资25亿美元，用于扩大该项目，将电池级碳酸锂的年产能提高到6万吨，这是该公司首个商业规模的锂矿运营项目。去年，在收购该资产32个月后，实现了首次试生产。

The London-listed firm has approved an investment of $2.5 billion to expand the project, it’s first commercial-scale lithium operation, to a capacity of 60,000 tonnes/year of battery-grade lithium carbonate. First production at pilot scale was achieved last year, 32 months after the asset acquisition.

为了“打造世界一流的锂业务”，今年的重点是应用直接锂提取（DLE）技术，并在完成对Arcadium的收购后增加支出分配。

As it moves to “create a world-class lithium business,” the focus this year is to apply the direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology and increase spending allocation once the Arcadium acquisition is completed.

首席执行官Jakob Stausholm表示，他将在3月份考察该项目，届时力拓有望完成对Arcadium的收购。然后，该公司将发布锂业务投资计划，同时考虑Rincón和从Arcadium转让的资产。

Chief executive officer Jakob Stausholm says he will visit the project in March, when Rio expects to close the Arcadium acquisition. Then, the company will release an investment plan for its lithium business, considering both Rincón and the assets transferred from Arcadium.

他解释说：“在完成交易之前，有些事情是不能做的。完成交易后，我们会迅速制定一个计划，明确投资的具体地点和速度。”

“It goes without saying, there are certain things you can’t do before you have closed the deal. And from there on, we will very quickly develop a plan for exactly where investments will happen and how fast we can ramp them up,” he explains.

Stausholm补充说：“将我们在Rincón的学习、技术和资产负债表与Arcadium的专业知识相结合，将使我们能够充分发挥Arcadium资产的潜力。加强我们现有的运营并根据需求发展我们的投资组合，为我们在短期、中期和长期取得成功奠定了坚实的基础。我们可以预期未来一年的全球波动会更大，但我们的战略使我们能够在不确定的世界中保持弹性，并在新机遇出现时抓住它们。”

“Combining our Rincón learnings, technology, and balance sheet with Arcadium’s expertise will allow us to realise the full potential of Arcadium’s assets,” Stausholm adds. “Enhancing our existing operations and evolving our portfolio in line with demand provides a strong base for us to succeed in the short, medium, and long term. Yes, we can expect more global volatility in the year ahead, but our strategy enables us to be resilient in an uncertain world and capture new opportunities as they arise.”

该公司没有提供塞尔维亚Jadar锂项目的最新情况。去年10月，尽管斥资67亿美元收购Arcadium，但力拓仍重申了对该项目的兴趣。关于Rincón项目的最终投资决定于12月做出。

The company did not provide an update on its Jadar lithium project in Serbia. Last October, Rio reiterated its interest in the asset despite the $6.7 billion Arcadium takeover. The final investment decision on Rincón was made in December.

Stausholm总结说：“在迈进2025年之际，我们非常兴奋，因为我们已经拥有打造一个非常成功、多元化和不断发展的企业的所有基石。”

“We are excited as we head into 2025, with all the building blocks for an incredibly successful, diversified and growing business in place,” concludes Stausholm.

2024年，力拓的净利润为116亿美元，比2023年增长15%（见相关报道）。

Rio posted a net profit of $11.6 billion in 2024, which is 15% higher than in 2023. (See related stories)