Source: Geology.com
Source: Geology.com
- Rio Tinto completed an “Order of Magnitude Study” to estimate Jadar’s lithium resource in January 2009. The Jadar Valley, in Serbia, hosts lacustrine evaporite deposits containing jadarite (LiNaB3SiO7(OH)), a new mineral that is a possible source of lithium and boron. The jadarite deposit occupies an area of almost 5 km2. According to Clarke and Harben, Jadar’s resource totals 957,000 tonnes of lithium and has a lithium concentration of 0.096%. Clarke and Harben do not provide information on how they made this estimate. Evans estimated the lithium tonnageat 850,000 tonnes, based on other data from Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto reported a breakthroughs in the technology needed to unlock its lithium project in Serbia. Tests at a research facility in a converted shipping container in Australia have successfully produced lithium products from samples from the Jadar deposit. It is aiming to bring the mine in Serbia into production by 2023. In March 2017, Rio Tinto upgraded the Jadar Mineral Resources in accordance with international standards - JORC - to 136 million tonnes. Part of the resource has been classified as Indicated. The resource also contains Inferred resources. Total equivalent borate product resources are 21Mt B2O3 and equivalent lithium product resources are 2.5Mt Li2O.Rio
Tinto is working with bank advisors on a bid for a stake in Sociedad
Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM),one of the world’s top
lithium producers.Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the diversified miner is aiming to buy the
32-percent interest in SQM that Canada’s Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (TSX:POT, NYSE:POT) has to sell in order to complete
its merger with Agrium
(TSX:AGU,NYSE:AGU).
At current prices, the stake held by PotashCorp, the world’slargest potash
producer by capacity, would be worth about $4.8 billion. Rio is said
to be working with Credit Suisse Group
and Rothschild to present the potential offer. According to the news outlet, if Rio
wins the bid, it would be the company’sbiggest
acquisition since its $38-billion takeover of aluminum
miner Alcan.
