POSCO Expands Sal de Oro with Lithium Carbonate Plant

POSCO will inaugurate on October 6 Plant 2 of the Sal de Oro project, located in the Salar del Hombre Muerto, in the mining cooperation area between Salta and Catamarca. The facility will have an approximate capacity of 23,000 annual tonnes of lithium carbonate.

The plant will begin a gradual production increase process in 2027 until reaching its design capacity. The carbonate produced will be destined entirely for export and will be manufactured through brine concentration by solar evaporation, followed by chemical treatment.

With this addition, the South Korean company deepens its integrated scheme in Argentina. POSCO already produces lithium hydroxide at the General Güemes Industrial Park, where the first phase of the project has a nominal capacity of 25,000 annual tonnes and currently operates near 85% of that level.

The complex links resource extraction in the Puna with chemical processing in Salta. In nominal terms, operations will combine capacities of 23,000 tonnes of carbonate and 25,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year.

During the inauguration ceremony, POSCO plans to sign an agreement with the national Government to advance a new expansion of Sal de Oro. The stated objective is to raise the project's capacity to 100,000 annual tonnes of lithium.

The development also has international financial backing. BID Invest approved a structure of up to US$700 million, which includes direct participation of up to US$250 million and another US$450 million mobilized through private financial entities, earmarked for POSCO Argentina's operations.