Sal de Vida (IDBI-14587-01)

Countries
  • Argentina
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Province of Catamarca
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • IDB Invest (IDBI)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Sep 26, 2023
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Galaxy Lithium Sal de Vida S.A.
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Industry and Trade
  • Mining
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 50.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IDBI website

Updated in EWS Jun 21, 2024

Disclosed by Bank May 11, 2023

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, Sal de Vida is a project for the development, construction, and operation of a lithium facility located in the province of Catamarca in the Salar del Hombre Muerto, approximately 1,400 km northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The project includes the development, construction, and operation of a 15ktpa lithium carbonate project, of predominantly battery grade quality. The transaction will be structured as a 9.5-year senior loan with a 30-month grace period. Lithium is a critical mineral in the global transition to a low-carbon future, as it is one of the most suitable metals for batteries. The demand for lithium-ion batteries has accelerated in recent years due to increasing global demand for electric vehicles (EVs), mobile devices, and networked storage, which has transformed the market dynamics.

The Project Company or the Borrower, Galaxy Lithium Sal de Vida S.A., incorporated in Argentina, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Allkem Limited (Allkem), the Sponsor; Allkem is based in Argentina and is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: AKE) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: AKE). Allkem is the result of the merger of equals between Orocobre Limited and Galaxy Resources Limited in August 2021. Allkem is one of the largest lithium chemical companies by production and market capitalization, with a market share of ~10%.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Galaxy Lithium Sal de Vida S.A Client -

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Client Contact

CONTACT NAME: Natalia Wanrooy

POSITION: Especialista en Desarrollo Corporativo

PHONE NUMBER: +54 9 11 3210 1601

EMAIL: natalia.wanrooy@allkem.co

IDB Invest Contact

EMAIL: requestinformation@idbinvest.org

PHONE: +1(202)-566-4566

ADDRESS: 1350 New York Ave NW, Washington, DC 20005

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://www.iadb.org/en/access-information/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IDB / IDB INVEST

The Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) or Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB Invest)-funded project. If you submit a complaint to MICI, they may assist you in addressing the problems you raised through a dispute-resolution process with those implementing the project and/or through an investigation to assess whether the IDB or IDB Invest is following its own policies for preventing or mitigating harm to people or the environment. You can submit a complaint by sending an email to MICI@iadb.org. You can learn more about the MICI and how to file a complaint at http://www.iadb.org/en/mici/mici,1752.html (in English) or http://www.iadb.org/es/mici/mici,1752.html (Spanish).

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