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SearchThe new Sal de Oro facility, in the Hombre Muerto Salt Flat, has the capacity to process 23,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate annually. A memorandum opens the way to study future phases with a target of 100,000 tonnes per year.
POSCO opened its second lithium plant in Argentina on October 6, as part of the Sal de Oro project, located in the Hombre Muerto Salt Flat, between the provinces of Salta and Catamarca. The facility produces lithium carbonate and has the capacity to process 23,000 tonnes per year, EFE reported.
The plant joins another facility in the project, dedicated to lithium hydroxide, with a capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year. These are different products: the figures describe the capacity of each plant and do not mean that both operate continuously at their nominal level.
At the opening, the company and the Argentine Government signed a memorandum of understanding to move forward with an analysis of Sal de Oro’s third and fourth phases. The announced goal is to reach annual production of 100,000 tonnes of lithium products. This is an expansion target, not capacity that has already been installed: the available information does not specify the investment, timelines, or design of those phases.
EFE puts the investment corresponding to the second phase at 207.9 million dollars. That figure refers to the phase of the plant that was opened, not to the cost of the planned expansion.
According to EFE, the project has helped generate around 5,000 jobs, including about 600 direct jobs at POSCO Argentina. The opening brought together national authorities and officials from Salta and Catamarca, as well as company executives.
The opening expands POSCO’s lithium processing capacity in the country. For companies linked to the supply chain, the next milestone will be learning the specific scope of the planned phases: the memorandum expresses an intention to move forward with their development, but does not yet set a timeline or confirm additional production capacity.
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