POSCO Holdings announced today that it has begun construction of a lithium mining plant in Argentina.
On March 23rd, POSCO Holdings held a groundbreaking ceremony for the lithium mining plant in Salar de Hombre Muerto, located at an altitude of 4000 meters in Salta Province, Argentina.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo, POSCO Holdings Eco-friendly Future Materials Team Leader Yoo Byung-ok, POSCO Argentina Head Kim Gwang-bok, Salta Governor Gustavo Saenz, Catamarca Governor Raul Jalil, and Korean Ambassador to Argentina Jang Myung-soo.
The plant, which started construction on this day, is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024 with an annual production of 25,000 tons of lithium hydroxide. The total investment cost is about 850 million dollars (about 950 billion KRW), including infrastructure investment and working capital.
POSCO Argentina, a wholly-owned subsidiary of POSCO Holdings, will carry out the construction, operation, and financing of the plant.
POSCO Group is planning to increase mass production to 50,000 tons from the end of 2024 through an additional investment of 25,000 tons per year in the second phase of this year, following the lithium business that started construction on the same day.
“Today is a very historic day for Argentina, Korea, and the POSCO Group. This is because today is the moment when the lithium business that POSCO Group has been preparing for for the past several years takes its great first step,” said Chairman Choi Jung-woo. “This project will be the foundation of POSCO Group’s secondary battery materials business.”
“By stably securing large quantities of lithium, which is a raw material for cathode materials, the entire value chain of POSCO Group’s secondary battery materials business will be strengthened,” He added.
Meanwhile, the 25,000 tons of lithium hydroxide that POSCO Group will produce with this start of construction is a scale that can be used for about 600,000 electric vehicles.
