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    Lithium Argentina hits guidance: expansion and DLE implications for mine planners

    January 6, 2026|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    Lithium Argentina hits guidance: expansion and DLE implications for mine planners

    First reported on MINING.com

    30 Second Briefing

    Lithium Argentina’s Cauchari-Olaroz brine operation in Jujuy hit 2025 guidance with about 34,100 tonnes of lithium carbonate, running at 97% of nameplate in Q4 and cutting cash operating costs below $6,000/t, down from $6,285/t in Q3. The $1 billion first-stage JV with Ganfeng (47%), Lithium Argentina (45%) and JEMSE (8.5%) is seeking environmental and RIGI approvals to add 45,000 t/y capacity and is evaluating direct lithium extraction to boost recoveries and reduce water use. A separate PPG salar project in Salta targets 50,000 t/y in phase one with about $1.1 billion initial capex.

    Technical Brief

    • First-stage Cauchari-Olaroz JV ownership split: Ganfeng 47%, Lithium Argentina 45%, JEMSE 8.5%.
    • Commercial production only commenced in 2024, so current performance reflects an early ramp-up year.
    • Q4 cash operating costs fell from $6,285/t in Q3 to below $6,000/t LCE sold.
    • Q4 net debt reduction of $26 million achieved while distributing $15 million to each JV partner.
    • JV submitted both an environmental permit and RIGI large-investment financing application for the Cauchari-Olaroz expansion.

    Our Take

    Running Caucharí-Olaroz at 97% of nameplate while still carrying over US$150 million in liquidity and cutting net debt by US$26 million in Q4 suggests Lithium Argentina can credibly advance the US$1.1‑billion first phase at Pozuelos‑Pastos Grandes without relying solely on equity markets, which is notable given current lithium price pressure across our coverage.

    The ownership split at Caucharí‑Olaroz (45% Lithium Argentina, 47% Ganfeng, 8.5% JEMSE) gives the Jujuy provincial vehicle a meaningful minority stake, which in our database has tended to smooth permitting and social licence for brine projects in Argentina’s portion of the lithium triangle compared with greenfield plays without provincial equity.

    Within our 53 lithium‑keyword pieces, few operators in northwestern Argentina report this level of capacity utilisation so early in ramp‑up, which likely strengthens Lithium Argentina’s case when seeking Argentine government‑linked financing versus peers still struggling with evaporation pond performance or reagent optimisation.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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