French mining and metallurgy company Eramet has bought back Tsingshan Group’s 49.9% minority stake in its Argentinian subsidiary Eramine Sudamerica in a deal worth $699m, regaining full ownership of the Centenario lithium project.
Through the deal, Eramet has reclaimed its 100% interest in the Argentinian lithium unit.
The French company began construction of its first lithium carbonate extraction plant at the Centenario site in October 2021, following the successful operation of a pilot plant since late 2019.
Eramet’s latest move enables the company to take complete control of the ongoing development of the Centenario lithium resource, a strategic move to enhance its position in the lithium market.
The lithium extraction plant, inaugurated on 3 July 2024, has a nameplate capacity of 24,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per year.
The highly automated facility employs advanced direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology and adheres to stringent standards for responsible mining, said Eramet.
Currently, the plant is completing its commissioning phase and is expected to begin production in the coming weeks.
Tsingshan chairman Xiang Guangda said: “We are proud to have successfully developed the Centenario project together with Eramet over the past three years, and we will support a smooth and constructive hand-over.”
Through the acquisition, Eramet aims to double its production share and enhance its flexibility in developing its portfolio of tier-one lithium assets. The company intends to reassess its future production expansion options.
The French mining company holds concessions in the Centenario and Arizaro salars in Argentina, which are said to be among the largest lithium brine deposits in the Lithium Triangle.
The total drainable mineral resources at the Centenario site exceed 15 million tonnes of LCE, with an average concentration of 407 mg/L. This resource supports an estimated long-term production capacity of more than 75,000 tonnes of LCE annually.
Eramet chair and CEO Christel Bories said: “This strategic move enables us to unlock the full potential of our Centenario world-class deposit and comes also at the right time in the context of cyclically low market prices for lithium.
“Taking advantage of the strong liquidity of the Group to execute the transaction, we will soon become the first Western company using a next-generation DLE technology to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate at industrial scale, confirming our technological and sustainable leadership across the entire lithium value chain.”
