The companies have entered into definitive agreements to combine Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes, Pastos Grandes and Sal de la Puna into a single development platform. The new joint venture is targeting 150,000 tonnes per year of LCE capacity across three phases.
By Panorama Minero
Ganfeng Lithium has agreed to make a US$180 million strategic investment in Lithium Argentina, alongside the establishment of a new joint venture that will consolidate three adjacent lithium projects in Salta Province and target a combined capacity of 150,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).
Lithium Argentina and Ganfeng announced the signing of definitive agreements to establish the PPG JV, a new partnership that will combine Ganfeng’s Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes project with Lithium Argentina’s Pastos Grandes and Sal de la Puna projects under a single basin-wide development.
The ownership structure will consist of a 67% interest held by Ganfeng and 33% by Lithium Argentina, while Ganfeng’s team in Salta will act as operator. Key decisions related to the development plan, financing and budgets, however, will require approval from both companies.
The plan calls for the development of an integrated 150,000-tonne-per-year LCE capacity across three phases, leveraging shared infrastructure and what the companies describe as one of the largest consolidated lithium brine resource bases globally.
The two partners have made a combined US$1.8 billion in historical investment in the assets that will form part of PPG, including property acquisitions and development expenditures. The transaction is expected to be completed in September 2026.
Upon completion, the projects will be consolidated under Millennial Lithium B.V., a Netherlands-based holding company owned 67% by Ganfeng and 33% by Lithium Argentina, which will indirectly own 100% of the Argentine entities holding the PPG projects.
A 150,000-Tonne Development Seeking RIGI Approval
PPG will initially be funded by both companies in proportion to their respective ownership interests. Ganfeng and Lithium Argentina are also jointly advancing a project-level financing process that includes debt financing and the potential participation of a minority strategic investor.
Offtake rights will be allocated to both companies in proportion to their respective interests in the joint venture.
One of the project’s next milestones will be a decision on its application to Argentina’s Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI). The application was submitted in the first quarter of 2026 and incorporates the full development plan for 150,000 tonnes per year of LCE capacity. The companies expect approval by the end of 2026.
Ganfeng to Invest US$180 Million in Lithium Argentina
Concurrent with the consolidation of the Salta assets, Ganfeng agreed to make a US$180 million strategic investment in Lithium Argentina through a six-year unsecured convertible note carrying an annual coupon of 4%.
The instrument will be convertible into Lithium Argentina common shares at US$12.50 per share, representing a premium of approximately 96% to the five-day volume-weighted average price of the company’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange for the period ending August 21.
Lithium Argentina intends to use the proceeds, together with available cash, to fully repay its US$259 million convertible debt due in January 2027. The transaction will extend the company’s debt maturity profile and strengthen its balance sheet.
Lithium Argentina ended the second quarter of 2026 with US$100 million in cash and equivalents and received an additional US$27 million in distributions from Cauchari-Olaroz during the third quarter.
Concurrent with the closing of the investment, the company also plans to terminate an existing US$130 million debt facility, releasing the associated security and preferential offtake rights.
Ganfeng currently owns approximately 9.6% of Lithium Argentina’s outstanding common shares. If the convertible note is converted in full, the Chinese company would receive an additional 14.4 million common shares and increase its ownership to approximately 16.1% on a fully diluted basis.
The strategic investment is also expected to close in September, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals from the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange.
A Partnership That Has Already Invested More Than US$2 Billion in Argentina
The agreement deepens a partnership between the two companies that spans nearly a decade and, according to Ganfeng, represents more than US$2 billion in combined investment in Argentina’s lithium sector.
Their main producing asset is currently Cauchari-Olaroz, in Jujuy, Argentina’s largest lithium brine operation. The project is 46.7% owned by Ganfeng, 44.8% by Lithium Argentina and 8.5% by JEMSE, the Jujuy provincial government-owned mining company.
Lithium Argentina CEO Sam Pigott said the transactions will strengthen the company’s balance sheet while positioning both Cauchari-Olaroz and PPG for their next stages of growth. At Cauchari-Olaroz, he highlighted more than US$300 million of liquidity, access to low-cost financing and free cash flow generation that could allow the company to organically fund the operation’s Stage 2 expansion.
Ganfeng CEO Wang Xiaoshen said the new structure further strengthens the partnership developed between the companies and highlighted their shared goal of reaching more than 200,000 tonnes per year of LCE capacity, combining the growth of Cauchari-Olaroz with the future development of the consolidated assets in Salta.
If the plan moves forward as envisioned, the new PPG platform would become one of the major drivers of Argentina’s lithium production growth, integrating three projects under a single development structure with a targeted capacity of 150,000 tonnes per year of LCE.
