Rio Tinto gains control of Nemaska, eyes $300M investment

[Ben Graham]

Rio Tinto (ASX, LSE, NYSE: RIO) said it plans to invest more than $300 million this year to expand its lithium business in Quebec after assuming control of Nemaska Lithium.

Following successive equity injections over the past year, Rio now holds 53.9% of Nemaska, compared with 46.1% for the Quebec government, according to a company statement Wednesday. Quebec has agreed to invest up to $200 million in Nemaska through equity subscriptions, Rio added.

Funding will go in part towards a new lithium hydroxide plant in Bécancour, Quebec, which was about 60% complete at the end of 2025 and is projected to have an annual capacity of 32,000 tonnes. The new facility is part of an effort by Rio to build an integrated lithium business in the province.

“Rio Tinto’s activities in Québec play an important role in our ambition to take our world-class lithium business to the next level of growth and performance, notably through Nemaska Lithium,” Rio Tinto Aluminium & Lithium CEO Jérôme Pécresse said.

“This evolution will facilitate the achievement of this objective and enable us to better support the long-term development of Nemaska Lithium, which will expand our integrated lithium product offering.”

Rio’s move further highlights Quebec’s status as Canada’s hotspot for lithium development, as it hosts almost half the country’s active lithium projects and its most advanced ones. That includes one of Canada’s two producing lithium mines, Elevra’s (Nasdaq: ELVR; ASX: ELV) North American Lithium mine near Val-d’Or. The other mine is Sinomine’s Tanco site in Manitoba.

James Bay mine

Founded in 2007, Nemaska is working to develop the Whabouchi spodumene mine in Quebec’s James Bay region along with the Bécancour plant. After facing cost overruns and restructuring under creditor protection in 2019, the company re-emerged as a joint venture between Quebec – through the province’s Investissement Québec financing arm – and Arcadium Lithium.

Commissioning activities in Bécancour are planned to start in 2026, with first production expected in 2028. Rio is conducting an evaluation of its Galaxy mine as well as Whabouchi to determine the optimal spodumene supply strategy for Bécancour. This evaluation is expected to be completed by the end of June.

Rio inherited a 50% stake in Nemaska when it acquired Arcadium for about $6.7 billion last year. In December, it unveiled plans to spend $1 billion annually over three years to boost lithium output in Canada and Argentina.