Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF) has completed its acquisition of Arcadium Lithium and said $1.8 billion will be spent on extending the Brockman iron ore mine in Western Australia.
Arcadium had been taken over for $6.7 billion following court approval, Rio said on Thursday.
The plan is now to grow capacity at Arcadium’s tier-one assets to over 200,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate equivalent by 2028, it added.
“We are creating a world-class lithium business which sits alongside our leading iron ore, aluminium and copper operations,” chief executive Jakob Stausholm commented.
“We believe we are well-positioned to deliver the materials needed for the energy transition.”
A $1.8 billion investment in the Brockman Syncline 1 project was separately unveiled, with first iron ore production expected in 2027.
This encompassed existing projects in the area, the company noted, and would boast capacity of up to 34 million tonnes a year of iron ore.
“Brockman 4 produced 43 million tonnes of iron ore in 2024. Securing this project extends the life of the Brockman hub,” Stausholm added.
Shares were down 0.5% at 4,879.5p in London on Thursday.