Rincon: Lithium Greenfield Project in Argentina (IDBI-15258-01)

Countries
  • Argentina
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Salta Province
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
Nov 21, 2025
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
Rincon Mining Pty Limited – Argentina Branch
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • 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)
$ 100.00 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.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 100.00 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 Oct 17, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Oct 9, 2025

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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.

The Project entails developing, constructing, and operating the greenfield Salar del Rincon battery-grade lithium project located on the Salar del Rincon in Salta Province, Argentina (the "Project" or "Rincon"). Rincon is expected to produce ~up to 53 thousand tonnes per year (ktpa) of battery-grade Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) over its 40-year mine.

The Project will include wellfields and a brine distribution system, a spent brine disposal facility, a processing complex, filtered waste storage facilities, power transmission lines (two 23 km, 33 kV lines), and ancillary infrastructure.

The Project cost is estimated at ~US$2.5 billion. It will be financed using a combination of debt and equity. The proposed IDB Invest investment comprises an A Loan of up to US$100 million, and the remaining debt requirements will be financed through parallel loans

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The Project cost is estimated at ~US$2.5 billion. It will be financed using a combination of debt and equity. The proposed IDB Invest investment comprises an A Loan of up to US$100 million, and the remaining debt requirements will be financed through parallel loans

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
Rio Tinto Group Parent Company - has unknown relation to Rincon Mining Pty Limited Subsidiary -

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.

EMAIL: [email protected]

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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