POSCO Holdings completes lithium brine acquisition in Argentina

Executives of POSCO Holdings and Lithium South Development pose during a closing agreement ceremony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday. Courtesy of POSCO Holdings

POSCO Holdings' Argentine subsidiary has completed the acquisition of full ownership of the Hombre Muerto North brine project from Canada’s Lithium South Development for $65 million, the company said Thursday.

The deal was finalized five months after the Korean steelmaker’s holding company announced its investment plan last November.

With the acquisition of the brine estimated to contain 1.58 million tons of lithium, POSCO Holdings now controls a total of 15 million tons of lithium brine resources in Argentina. The reserves are large enough to produce at least 3 million tons of lithium and supply batteries for about 70 million electric vehicles.

The company operates a lithium plant in Argentina with an annual capacity of 25,000 tons and plans to complete construction of another facility with the same capacity during the second half of this year.

“We plan to further strengthen our responsiveness to the global market and bolster our supply chain competitiveness,” POSCO Holdings President Lee Ju-tae said.

Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo vowed to support the Korean firm’s lithium project through the Incentive Regime for Large Investments, a strategic program designed to attract large-scale investments by offering tax, customs and foreign exchange benefits.

If approved, the program would make POSCO Holdings the first Korean company eligible for its benefits.

The company said it will continue efforts to proactively secure high-quality resources worldwide for its secondary battery materials business under the leadership of POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa.