ore

Lithium has to compete for capital with Rio Tinto’s other big businesses, notably iron ore.

Iron ore, extracted through emissions-intensive mining, remains its most valuable export.

“Its own copper production in Chile is declining, its capex is rising—in part due to capital-intensive, longer-term copper projects—and its relative exposure to iron ore and met coal is rising.”

Instead of shipping the ore to China, it planned to refine it in the U.K., developing an integrated operation outside of Asia.

Now, it forecasts annual throughput of 3.5 million tons of ore from the fourth year of operation, from a prior estimate of 2 million tons.