Salares Altoandinos lithium project

planned

Rio Tinto and Empresa Nacional de Minería (ENAMI), a state-owned Chilean mining company, signed a binding agreement to form a joint venture to develop the Salares Altoandinos lithium project in the Atacama region. Rio Tinto will acquire a controlling 51% interest in the project and provide up to $425 million cash and non-cash contributions including its Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) Technology. The cash contributions will include staged spending to sole fund the pre-feasibility study and further studies, subject to the joint venture progressing through investment stage-gates. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to receipt of all applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.