Rincón Project — lithium carbonate (Rio Tinto)
The largest RIGI commitment in Argentine lithium: Rio Tinto is building a 53,000 tpa plant at the Salar de Rincón using DLE (nanofiltration). The first large-scale lithium project by a global diversified major in the country.
The projectwhat it is, the route, the owners, the works and the contractors
Who owns it
Rincón Mining PTY LTD. Argentina Branch (CUIT 30-70708643-9; Rio Tinto subsidiary) verif Jun 3, 2025 ↗
The works, milestone by milestone
CAPEMISA holds the first matchmaking round between Salta suppliers and Rio Tinto at Casa Minera: suppliers present their services and the operator surveys its operating needs.
The IFC discloses the project's environmental and social review summary, which publishes for the first time the operating headcount (~460 workers from 2029), the construction peak (4,200) and the permanent electrical infrastructure (two 23 km, 33 kV lines).
IDB Invest approves a USD 100,000,000 loan for the project.
The province announces the three local mining-procurement measures and puts a number on the Rio Tinto agreement: Resolución N° 97/25. The other two are the agreement with CAPEMISA, which lets it file observations on registrations, and the IT system that cross-checks the list of suppliers present at the mine against the Registry.
Salta's Secretaría de Minería y Energía, CAPEMISA and Rincon Mining Pty Ltd sign a collaboration agreement on the project's procurement: the company undertakes to share its contracting plans, to give advance notice of tender processes and to give feedback to suppliers that lose; the chamber provides contact with its members and takes part in the monitoring.
Rio Tinto's board approves USD 2,500 M to expand the project to 60,000 t/year of battery grade lithium carbonate, with a 40-year mine life, construction of the expanded plant starting mid-2025 subject to permitting, and first production expected in 2028 with a three-year ramp-up.
First lithium production at the 3,000 t/year starter plant. Full commissioning and ramp-up continued afterwards, with project completion expected in the first quarter of 2025.
Who already has a contract
We have not surveyed this project’s awards. A published contract with its source closes them.
How to supply itwhere to register, what they ask for and what they will buy
How to become a supplier
Rincón Mining PTY LTD. Sucursal Argentina, tax ID 30-70708643-9, address at Manuela Sáenz 323, apartment 613, City of Buenos Aires. ⚠️ It is not a branch created for the RIGI: it is the Argentine branch of an Australian company, and its registered address is in Buenos Aires, not in Salta.
The operator makes the purchasing decision, but since August 2025 the channel has been governed by an agreement with the provincial government and the suppliers' chamber: Rio Tinto undertook to share its contracting plans with the Secretaría de Minería y Energía and with CAPEMISA, to give advance notice of tender processes and to give feedback to suppliers that lose. It is the only one of Salta's four projects in this batch with a written procurement channel and the chamber inside it.
The registration routes that exist today, with their status. The one that is up and running is not always the official one.
RPPLEM — Salta Provincial Registry of Local Suppliers to Mining Companies
up and running todayThis is the registry created by art. 15 of Ley 8164 and the only one the law recognises. It is up and running and its roll is public: as of 31-Jul-2026 it listed 500 suppliers with approved applications, showing tax ID, legal name, registration date, chamber membership and line of business.
Go to the single windowabrirCAPEMISA — Salta Chamber of Mining Suppliers and Entrepreneurs
up and running todayThe chamber organises matchmaking rounds with the operator. The Rio Tinto one took place around 15-Apr-2026 at Casa Minera: suppliers presented their services and the company surveyed its operating needs. Its president said « Tenemos previstos tres o cuatro reuniones mas como esta para el resto del año con otras mineras ».
Go to the single windowabrirAdvance disclosure of purchases under the Rincon Mining agreement (Resolución 97/25)
up and running todayVerbatim from the official release: « la empresa Rio Tinto se compromete a compartir sus planes de contratacion con la Secretaria y con CAPEMISA, a brindar informacion anticipada sobre procesos licitatorios y a realizar devoluciones a proveedores para fomentar su mejora continua », and « CAPEMISA facilitara el contacto con sus asociados y se trabajara en conjunto en tareas de monitoreo ». The agreement was approved by Resolución N° 97/25 of the Secretaría de Minería y Energía.
What they ask you for
Qualify as a local supplier under art. 16 of Ley 8164, which requires four things at once: registered or corporate AND tax domicile in Salta; at least 80% of the payroll living in the province; for a company, 51% or more of the capital held by partners domiciled in Salta; and for a joint venture, a Salta partner with a minimum 30% stake. verif Oct 22, 2019 ↗Verbatim from art. 16: a local supplier must « constituir y mantener domicilio real o social y fiscal en la Provincia de Salta »; have « al menos el 80% de su nomina de trabajadores » living in Salta; if a legal entity, be registered in Salta with « el 51% o mas de su composicion societaria » held by partners domiciled in the province; and if a joint venture, a Salta partner with a minimum 30% stake.
Be registered in the Provincial Registry of Local Suppliers to Mining Companies (RPPLEM) and keep the certificate current: it expires two years after issue. verif Jul 31, 2026 ↗The registry is created by « la Ley N° 8164, en su artículo 15 », is free and public, is run by the Secretaría de Minería y Energía (Av. Bolivia 4650 PB, Salta), and the certificate runs for « dos años contados desde que se emitió ».
The specialised professionals and technicians the supplier puts on the job must be licensed by the province's own professional association. verif Oct 22, 2019 ↗A requirement of art. 16 of Ley 8164, read in the text published in the provincial official gazette: specialised professionals and technicians must be licensed by the corresponding provincial association.
Be on the roll on inspection day, not on an annual filing: enforcement cross-checks the list of suppliers present AT THE MINE against the Registry, on the spot. prob Aug 28, 2025 ↗Verbatim from the official release of 28-Aug-2025: « las empresas mineras deben brindar en mina, al momento de la inspeccion, la nomina de todos los proveedores », cross-checked « con el Registro de Proveedores Mineros ». The same measure gives CAPEMISA the power to « formular observaciones en el procedimiento » of registration.
The order you get in by
Register with the RPPLEM at the Secretaría de Minería y Energía. It is free and public, and without a current certificate the purchase does not count towards the miner's local-content target. the certificate expires two years after issue
If the ownership structure falls short of 51% Salta-held, form a joint venture with a local partner: art. 16 accepts a joint venture with a Salta partner holding at least 30%.
Join CAPEMISA or ask to be included in its matchmaking rounds: it is the chamber the provincial government placed inside the process, and the one that convenes the meetings with the operators.
Ask the Secretaría de Minería y Energía or CAPEMISA for the contracting plan Rio Tinto hands them: the agreement obliges the company to disclose tender processes BEFORE opening them, and that head start is the only real advantage a small supplier has.
What it will buy, and when
Two overlapping stages: the 25,000 t/yr commercial plant between July 2024 and December 2027, and Rincón Full Potential up to 53,000 t/yr between 2026 and 2029. Through 2026 and 2027 the project buys construction work from both at once, which is the densest window in Salta lithium.
The deadline to certify the minimum investment is Jun 30, 2029: it is the date that orders the purchases for the second stage, and it falls before full capacity of 53,000 t/yr is operating.
Each phase buys different things at different times. The links lead to the matching market or trade.
Stage 1 — 25,000 t/yr commercial plant
under wayVerbatim from the act: «an investment of one billion six hundred fifty-three million US dollars (USD 1,653,000,000) for the first stage, to be executed between July 9, 2024 and December 31, 2027». The first export from the 25,000 t/yr plant is estimated for January 2028 and is what defines start-up for the purposes of the regime.
Stage 2 — Rincón Full Potential, up to 53,000 t/yr
under wayVerbatim: «six hundred forty-six million US dollars (USD 646,000,000) for the second stage, to be executed between the years 2026 and 2029». Investment plan from admission: USD 516,963,963 in the first year and USD 776,547,631 in the second.
What it will need and has no supplier for yet
Brine drilling and pumping + pond piping
highThe DLE operation demands well fields and continuous brine pumping at industrial scale.
Export logistics along the Salta-to-Pacific-ports corridor
highCarbonate exported to Asia leaves through Andean passes: high-altitude heavy transport and cargo consolidation are a structural bottleneck of the Puna.
We cross what you manufacture or do against the 2 phases of this project and tell you which ones you fit into and when each one buys. Two pages, with the evidence behind them.
Analyze my companyWhat it leaves in Saltajobs, works, taxes, promises and the outlook
How many jobs it creates
about 4,200 workers at peak construction: 1,400 direct, 1,300 temporary and 1,500 third-party, plus 225 to run the 3,000 t/yr pilot plant workers at the PEAK of construction, broken down into direct, temporary and third-party prob Sep 26, 2025 ↗
approximately 460 workers from 2029 steady-state operating headcount; the document does not separate direct from indirect prob 2029 ↗
The works that stay behind
The infrastructure that stays standing once the works end, with its size and its source.
Two 33 kV overhead power lines built to feed the plant at the Salar de Rincón
Powerlines of 23 km each (46 km of route in total), 33 kV
The project's own operation over the 40-year life declared. ⚠️ Neither source says it supplies Olacapato or any third party, and no such claim is made here: what remains is the route and the installed capacity in a part of the Puna that had neither.
Both lender reviews describe the electrical infrastructure the same way: « overhead transmission lines ('OHTL', two 23 km, 33 kV lines) » in the IFC's environmental and social summary, and « power transmission lines (two 23 km, 33 kV lines) » in IDB Invest's project record.
- What it already pays in taxes and royalties — We have not broken down this project’s local fiscal contribution: the primary source that sets each item still has to be opened, and an act of the State is not published on press backing.
- Who promised what — We have not surveyed the public promises about this project. A dated, verifiable commitment with its source closes them.
What could stall itrisks and how to track them
- What could stall it — We have not documented this project’s risks. An identifiable vector with its source closes them.
- How to tell whether it is advancing — We have not defined this project’s indicators: what observable fact marks its progress still has to be identified.
How we verified thisthe act, the gaps and the sources
The RIGI act, in detail
EX-2025-20445333-APN-SCEYM#MEC verif Jun 3, 2025 ↗
May 19, 2025 verif Jun 3, 2025 ↗
The act’s articles, in detail
2 facts on the commitment
30 June 2029 to complete the minimum investment amount. verif Jun 30, 2029 ↗
Rincón Mining PTY LTD. Sucursal Argentina, tax ID 30-70708643-9, registered at Manuela Sáenz 323, Apartment 613, Buenos Aires City. verif Jun 3, 2025 ↗
What we could not confirm
There are 3 in this project. Each says why it could not be confirmed and what it would take to close it.
H-01Who holds a contract on the Rincón works+
None of the open sources names a single contractor. The IFC review summary mentions them in the abstract — «Project contractors and sub-contractors are required to implement those portions of the borrower's ESMS that fall within their scope of work» — and lists none; neither the operator nor the province has published any award. It is the largest RIGI work in Salta and its contracting chain is not public. || Searched again on 6 September 2026 with two further searches, and the zero repeats: there is no contractor's corporate name published. What is published for the period is the financing — a US$1,175 million package from international lenders announced in March 2026 against an estimated project cost of some US$2,500 million — and the construction status, with the starter plant already operating and first production from the large plant expected in 2028. ⚠️ Neither of those two figures has entered the record yet: they come from the press and from the owner's filing with the United States securities regulator, and before publishing them the original document has to be opened.
H-02The local-purchase percentage that governs this project+
This is a gap that CANNOT BE CLOSED through documents, and saying so spares the next pass: the stage-by-stage progressive percentage lives in the agreement approved by Resolución 97/25, and that resolution is not published in Salta's official gazette — the search was exhausted by number, by notices and by subject in the August 2026 pass. The other place where art. 20 of Ley 8164 sets a progressive 40-to-70% system is the environmental approval, and Rincón's environmental impact declaration is not published either. ⚠️ A figure also circulates claiming Salta contracting rose from close to 30% to between 35% and 40%: it is not recorded here because no source supporting it could be opened.
H-03The project's final capacity: the act and the lender do not say the same thing+
The sources do not agree and the difference has an arithmetic explanation, but no document writes it down. The IFC summary says « two production plants (stages 1 and 2) of 25 thousand tonnes per year (ktpa) each, with a final production capacity of 50 ktpa »; Resolución 735/2025 declares 53,000 t/yr with potential for 60,000; and the province's official release on the environmental impact declaration spoke of 50,000. The two new commercial plants add up to 50,000, and the figure in the act adds the small 3,000 t/yr plant already running: 25 + 25 + 3 = 53. That is OUR reconciliation, not a quotation, and so it is not published as fact.
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