Name of the Mine
Cauchari-Olaroz mine.

Location  
The mine is situated in the Department of Susques, Jujuy province, in north-western Argentina.

Mine Owner/s  
Ganfeng Lithium (46.7%), Lithium Argentina (44.8%) and JEMSE (8.5%).

Brief Description  
Cauchari-Olaroz contains substantial lithium reserves, supported by established infrastructure and a skilled local workforce.

The facility has an initial design capacity of 40 000 t/y of battery-grade lithium carbonate, with scope for future expansion.

The project is hosted in a salar, a high-altitude salt flat formed as shallow lakes evaporate, leaving behind mineral- and salt-rich crusts.

Brief History  
Cauchari-Olaroz was commissioned in 2024.

Primary Metals/Minerals  
Lithium.

Secondary Metals/Minerals  
None stated.

Geology/Mineralisation  
There are two dominant structural features in the region of the Cauchari and Olaroz salars: north–south-trending faults and northwest-southeast-trending lineaments. The high-angle north–south-trending faults form narrow and deep basins, which are accumulation sites for numerous salars, including Olaroz and Cauchari. Basement rock in this area consists of Lower Ordovician turbidites (shale and sandstone) that are intruded by Late Ordovician granitoids. Bedrock is exposed to the east, west and south of the two salars, and generally along the eastern boundary of the Puna region.

The brines from Cauchari are saturated in sodium chloride with total dissolved solids at about 27% (324 g/ℓ to 335 g/ℓ) and an average density of about 1.215 g/cm. The other primary components of these brines include potassium, lithium, magnesium, calcium, sulphate, bicarbonate, and boron as borates and free boric acid. Since the brine is saturated in sodium chloride, halite is expected to precipitate during evaporation. In addition, the Cauchari brine is predicted to initially precipitate halite sodium chloride and ternadite (sodium sulphate) as well as a wide range of secondary salts that could include: astrakanite (blödite), schoenite (picromerite, a mineral and a tutton salt), leonite, kainite, carnalite, epsomite (magnesium sulphate heptahydrate) and bischofite (magnesium chloride hexahydrate).

Reserves  
The mine has total proven and probable reserves as at December 31, 2024, of 682 920 t of lithium metal and lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) of 3.64-million tonnes.

Resources  
Total measured and indicated resources as at December 31, 2024, were estimated at 16.28-million tonnes LCE. Inferred resources were estimated at 4.72-million tonnes LCE.

Type of Mine
Direct lithium extraction.

Mining Method  
The mine uses brine evaporation ponds and a processing facility.

Major Infrastructure/Equipment  
The site is equipped with wells, evaporation ponds, salt harvesting machinery, supporting infrastructure, and utilities. A natural gas pipeline, a power supply, and a permanent camp support operations.

Additional facilities include:

• a warehouse for spare parts and consumables;
• a steel structure for soda ash storage;
• a chemical storage building for the solvent extraction plant, designed with ventilation, safety, and security measures;
• operator shelters, electrical installations, and control rooms; and
• a storage facility to protect finished products from contamination and prepare them for shipping.

Prospects  
The Stage 2 expansion is advancing aiming to add another of 40 000 t/y of LCE.

Stage 2 is expected to use the existing Stage 1 infrastructure and solar evaporation process and includes the new processing technologies. An application is being prepared for Stage 2 under the large investments’ incentive regime, or RIGI, in Argentina.

Contact Details
Lithium Argentina
Tel +54 11 5263 0616
Email info@lithium-argentina.com
Website https://www.lithium-argentina.com/