Mine / resource · Argentina

Cauchari-Olaroz

ProducingVerified 24 Oct 2026As of 25 Oct 2026
Owner
Minera Exar: Ganfeng 46.7%, Lithium Argentina 44.8%, JEMSE (Jujuy province) 8.5%
Listed via
LAR1772.HK
Product
Li₂CO₃
Deposit type
Brine
Capacity
H1 2026 ~19 kt Li2CO3; FY26 guidance 35–40 kt; design ~40 kt
≈ 40 kt LCE/yr (nameplate)
Location
-23.49°, -66.71°
Source
Filing used for verification

Stage 2 (+45 ktpa LCE) approved under Argentina's RIGI in May 2026; Stage 2 EIA under review.

Ownership structure

Effective economic interest of listed owners · As of 24 Oct 2026
Ganfeng Lithium1772.HK46.7%Lithium ArgentinaLAR44.8%Other / unlisted8.5%Cauchari-OlarozMine / resource

Attributable capacity

Listed ownerStakekt LCE/yr
Ganfeng Lithium 1772.HK46.7%≈19
Lithium Argentina LAR44.8%≈18

Structure: Minera Exar: Ganfeng 46.7%, Lithium Argentina 44.8%, JEMSE (Jujuy province) 8.5%. 8.5% is held by unlisted or untracked owners.

Value chain

Owners, buyers and the refineries on Li3atlas they feed · As of 24 Oct 2026
Listed ownersLithium ArgentinaLAR · 44.8%Ganfeng Lithium1772.HK · 46.7%
Mine / resourceCauchari-OlarozH1 2026 ~19 kt Li2CO3; FY26 guidance 35–40 kt; design ~40 kt
Buyers (offtakes)BangchakLi₂CO₃ · up to 6,000 tpa (from LAR's share)GanfengLi₂CO₃ · 80% of the first 12,250 tpa of LAR's 49% offtake share (~9,800 tpa at full capacity), on top of Ganfeng's own share

Quarterly production

As of 30 Jun 2026
02.557.51012.5UnverifiedJun Q 2025: 8.5 kt Li2CO38.5USD 6,098Sep Q 2025: 8.3 kt Li2CO38.3USD 6,285Dec Q 2025: 9.7 kt Li2CO39.7USD 5,618Mar Q 2026: 9.66 kt Li2CO39.66USD 5,391Jun Q 2026: 9.28 kt Li2CO39.28USD 5,897Q2 25Q3 25Q4 25Q1 26Q2 26Q3 26Cost/t

kt Li2CO3, as reported · Source: Sep Q 2024, Dec Q 2024, Mar Q 2025, Jun Q 2025, Sep Q 2025, Dec Q 2025, Mar Q 2026, Jun Q 2026

10$6,634Production (kt Li2CO3): 6.8Sep Q 24Production (kt Li2CO3): 8.5Sales (kt Li2CO3): 9.4Dec Q 24Production (kt Li2CO3): 7.2Sales (kt Li2CO3): 7.1Mar Q 25Production (kt Li2CO3): 8.5Sales (kt Li2CO3): 8.6Jun Q 25Production (kt Li2CO3): 8.3Sales (kt Li2CO3): 7.8Sep Q 25Production (kt Li2CO3): 9.7Sales (kt Li2CO3): 10.1Dec Q 25Production (kt Li2CO3): 9.7Sales (kt Li2CO3): 10Mar Q 26Production (kt Li2CO3): 9.3Sales (kt Li2CO3): 8.9Jun Q 26
Production (kt Li2CO3)Sales (kt Li2CO3)Realised price (US$/t) (US$, right axis)Unit cost (≈ US$)
Jun Q 26Mar Q 26Dec Q 25Sep Q 25Jun Q 25Mar Q 25Dec Q 24Sep Q 24
Production (kt Li2CO3)9.39.79.78.38.57.28.56.8
Sales (kt Li2CO3)8.91010.17.88.67.19.4—
Implied inventory change (prod − sales)+0.4−0.3−0.4+0.5−0.1+0.1−0.9—
Unit cost (USD/t)5,8975,3915,6186,2856,0986,6346,630—

Production minus sales in the same unit: positive = stockpile built at the mine or port, negative = drawn down.

Resource and mine life

As of 25 Oct 2026
Resource
35.51 Mt LCE
Reserve
1.41 Mt LCE
Grade
562 mg/L Li (M&I), 567 mg/L (Inferred); resource exclusive of reserves; reserve
Mine life
35 years
As of
31 Dec 2025

Unit cost

Basis
C1 cash operating cost per t Li2CO3 sold
Period
Jun Q 2026

Cost bridge to US$/t LCE

Reported unit cost
USD 5,897/t Li2CO3
Landed cost
$5,897/t LCE
Cost-curve quartile Q1 of 14 operations with a cost

Integrated chemical producer: the reported cost already covers conversion. The conversion, freight and royalty settings are shared with the cost curve on the map page (Economics).

Position on the cost curve

Landed US$/t LCE, same assumptions as the cost curve · As of 25 Oct 2026
Hombre Muerto West (HMW): $3,963/t LCEQarhan Salt Lake: $4,292/t LCE (implied)Cauchari-Olaroz: $5,897/t LCEYichun lepidolite belt: $6,012/t LCE (implied)Greenbushes: $6,201/t LCEPilgangoora: $7,330/t LCEMibra: $7,416/t LCEWodgina: $7,489/t LCEFinniss: $7,913/t LCEZabuye Salt Lake: $8,265/t LCE (implied)Mt Marion: $9,166/t LCEGrota do Cirilo: $9,503/t LCEKathleen Valley: $10,203/t LCENorth American Lithium: $11,166/t LCE$11,1660

$5,897/t LCE · cheaper than about 89% of costed supply

Grey: every producing mine with a cost (width = capacity). Highlighted: this asset. Lighter dashed bars are implied costs (no reported unit cost).

Milestones

As of 24 Oct 2026

Completed (3)

  • Sept 2026Stage 2 updated development planExpansion · source
  • May 2026Stage 2 expansion (+45 ktpa LCE) approved under RIGIPermit · source
  • May 2026Stage 2 RIGI approvalPermit · source

Offtakes and supply chain

As of 24 Oct 2026

Sells to

  • BangchakLi₂CO₃ · up to 6,000 tpa (from LAR's share) · source
  • GanfengLi₂CO₃ · 80% of the first 12,250 tpa of LAR's 49% offtake share (~9,800 tpa at full capacity), on top of Ganfeng's own share · life of operation (not stated) · source

Country risk · Argentina

Policy risk: Medium As of 24 Oct 2026
Royalty
Provincial royalty capped at 3% at the mine mouth; Catamarca and Salta have legislated up to 5%

RIGI investment regime covers lithium and cuts the effective tax rate (Fundar model for a Salta project: 42.8% to 30.4%). source

Change history

Approved changes with their source · As of 25 Oct 2026
DateFieldChangeSource
25 Oct 2026Quarterly figuresnew: Mar Q 2024 · production 4.5 kt Li2CO3Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. — MD&A for the three months ended March 31, 2024 (SEC 6-K Ex. 99.2, 14 May 2024)
25 Oct 2026Quarterly figuresnew: Sep Q 2024 · production 6.8 kt Li2CO3Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. — MD&A for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 (SEC 6-K Ex. 99.2, 6 Nov 2024)
25 Oct 2026Realised pricenew: Carbonate US$8,000/t · Sep Q 2024 · Li₂CO₃ realised price (approx.), sold mainly to Ganfeng at China battery-grade price less VAT, transport and impurity deductionLithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. — MD&A for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 (SEC 6-K Ex. 99.2, 6 Nov 2024)
25 Oct 2026Resource / reservenew: resource 35.51 Mt LCE · reserve 1.41 Mt LCE · 562 mg/L Li (M&I), 567 mg/L (Inferred); resource exclusive of reserves; reserve · as of 2025-12-31Lithium Argentina AG — Annual Report on Form 20-F for FY2025 (SEC EDGAR, 23 Mar 2026)
25 Oct 2026production_plannew: 2026: 37.5 · 2027: 40 kt Li2CO3 · 2026: guidance 35–40 kt, midpoint 37.5 (20-F note 1, p. F-10). 2027: Stage 1 nameplate 40 ktpa LCE per the S-K 1300 Mineral Reserve case, which models 40,000 tpa LCE from 1 Jan 2026 to 31 Dec 2060 (p. (as of 2026-03-23)Lithium Argentina AG — Annual Report on Form 20-F for FY2025 (SEC EDGAR, 23 Mar 2026)
25 Oct 2026Quarterly figuresnew: Dec Q 2024 · production 8.5 kt Li2CO3 · sales 9.383 kt Li2CO3 · cost USD 6,630 (C1 cash operating cost per t Li₂CO₃ sold (100% basis))Lithium Argentina AG — MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2024 (SEC 6-K Ex. 99.2, 18 Mar 2025)
25 Oct 2026Realised pricenew: Carbonate US$7,800/t · FY2024 · Li₂CO₃ avg realised (lithium revenue ÷ t sold), net of delivery to China (approx.)Lithium Argentina AG — MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2024 (SEC 6-K Ex. 99.2, 18 Mar 2025)
25 Oct 2026Quarterly figuresnew: Jun Q 2024 · production 5.6 kt Li2CO3Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. — MD&A for the six months ended June 30, 2024 (SEC 6-K Ex. 99.2, 14 Aug 2024)

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