Arcadium deal to vault Rio Tinto into lithium supplier big league

Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it would acquire Arcadium Lithium for USD 6.7 billion in an all-cash deal that would make it one of the world's largest lithium producers.

The global miner would gain access to Arcadium's wide range of mines, processing facilities and deposits along with a customer base that includes automakers Tesla, BMW and General Motors.

Rio's Rincon project in Argentina is due to start producing later this year, while its Jadar project in Serbia could take at least two years to secure all the necessary permits.

Below is a list of the top lithium producers in the world as per market cap:

1. Albermale

Albemarle is the world's largest lithium producer, with a market cap of about USD 12 billion. It runs the only producing lithium mine in North America, and also has operations in Chile and Western Australia.

It holds joint ventures in Australia with Mineral Resources at the Wodgina mine and with Tianqi Lithium at the Greenbushes mine.

In 2023, it produced 39,000 tons of lithium metal.

2. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile

Chile's SQM is the second-largest lithium producer, with a market cap of USD 11.43 billion. China's Tianqi Lithium owns about a fifth of the company.

SQM last year produced around 165,500 tons of lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate, according to its annual report.

3. Ganfeng Lithium

China's Ganfeng Lithium has a market cap of USD 9.37 billion. It also owns a 6.16% stake in Australia's Pilbara Minerals. It has operations in Western Australia, Argentina, Mexico and China.

4. Tianqi Lithium

Tianqi Lithium, which has a market cap of USD 8.11 billion, has operations in Australia, Chile and China.

5. Mineral Resources

Australia's Mineral Resources has a market cap of USD 7.12 billion and is the world's biggest miner of hardrock spodumene. It holds stakes in several developers such as Global Lithium, Delta Lithium and Wildcat Resources .

Per last year's annual report, the company shipped 847,000 dry metric tons (dmt) of spodumene concentrate.

6. Pilbara Minerals

Pilbara Minerals has a market cap of USD 6.34 billion and operates the Pilgangoora mine in Western Australia. In August, it made a A USD 559.9 million ( USD 378.21 million) bid for smaller peer Latin Resources to gain access to its Brazilian operations.

In 2023, it produced 620,147 dmt of total spodumene concentrate.

7. Arcadium Lithium

Arcadium Lithium has a market cap of USD 3.31 billion and was formed by the merger of Allkem and Livent on Jan. 4, 2024. It has mining assets in Argentina and Australia, and downstream conversion assets in the U.S., China, Japan and UK.

As of 2023, both the companies together produced around 29,661 tons of lithium carbonate, and Allkem alone produced 239,312 dmt of spodumene concentrate.

8. Liontown Resources

Liontown Resources has a market cap of USD 1.45 billion, and operates in Western Australia.

In September, it shipped its first lithium output of 11,855 wet metric tons of spodumene concentrate.