French, Chinese companies open new lithium plant in Argentina

French mining group Eramet and China's Tsingshan on Wednesday inaugurated a lithium production plant in Argentina to supply the booming electric car industry.

The site in the northwestern province of Salta represents an investment of $870 million dollars, Eramet said. The plant is expected to produce up to 24,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate per year at full capacity and enough for 600,000 electric vehicle batteries.