EcoPro Innovation invests $40 million in Argentine lithium site

Pursuit Minerals signed an agreement Nov. 9, 2026, with South Korea's EcoPro Innovation for a $40 million investment package to develop its Rio Grande Sur lithium project in Argentina.

The transaction injects $20 million for a 20% equity stake in Pursuit's operating subsidiary. EcoPro will provide an additional prepayment loan of up to $20 million against future output.

Pursuit retains an 80% stake and project operatorship at the site in Salta Province. The funding targets Stage 1 construction designed to extract 5,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate equivalent annually.

The Australian developer granted EcoPro 100% of Stage 1 off-take rights under an exclusive commercial arrangement. Pursuit retains an option to market up to 10% of annual production independently.

The pact also gives EcoPro a 60-day exclusive negotiation window covering future production expansions. Pursuit plans to scale total extraction capacity to 17,500 tonnes per year under subsequent development stages.

Pursuit published a pre-feasibility study addendum Nov. 6, 2026, outlining the project economics. The company estimated Stage 1 requires $120 million in capital expenditure, which it plans to fund through senior debt.

The agreement marks a strategic push upstream for EcoPro Innovation. The Pohang-based subsidiary of EcoPro converts technical-grade lithium carbonate into high-purity battery lithium hydroxide for cathode active material production lines across South Korea.

EcoPro supplies nickel-rich cathode active materials to battery manufacturers including Samsung SDI and SK On. Those battery makers deliver finished lithium-ion cells to electric vehicle assembly plants located across North America and Europe.

South Korean cathode producers face mounting pressure to reduce reliance on Chinese refiners. China currently processes roughly two-thirds of the world's battery-grade lithium chemicals, exposing battery makers to geopolitical and regulatory trade restrictions.

United States Inflation Reduction Act rules penalize battery cells containing critical minerals extracted or processed by Foreign Entities of Concern. The restrictions disqualify vehicles using Chinese-refined lithium from the $7,500 federal clean vehicle tax credit.

Argentina does not maintain a bilateral free trade pact with the United States. However, shipping Argentine lithium to South Korea for refining allows downstream producers to qualify under free-trade-agreement value-added rules applied by Washington.

Direct project investment shields EcoPro from market volatility in lithium spot prices. Contracting raw material directly from junior mining companies provides fixed long-term supply visibility for the group's domestic conversion facilities.

The Rio Grande Sur project covers 9,260 hectares across five tenements in the Salta Province portion of the Lithium Triangle. The geographic basin across Argentina, Bolivia and Chile contains over half of the world's brine resources.

Pursuit reported a JORC-compliant resource of 1.104 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent at the site. The indicated resource category accounts for 591,800 tonnes, while the inferred category contains 512,500 tonnes.

Exploration test wells at the Mito tenement confirmed lithium concentrations averaging 505.8 milligrams per liter. Recent drilling intercepts reached peak concentrations of 995 milligrams per liter at depth, according to company assay filings.

The developer previously operated a 250-tonne annual pilot plant in the provincial capital of Salta. The test facility produced lithium carbonate at 99.5% purity to validate chemical flowsheets and provide qualification samples to prospective buyers, Pursuit said.

Pursuit plans to relocate the pilot equipment directly to the Rio Grande salar. Operating the modular pilot unit on-site will generate early cash receipts while commercial evaporation ponds and processing buildings undergo civil construction.

The $20 million prepayment credit line operates as production-linked project finance. EcoPro will amortize the principal through regular deductions applied against physical deliveries of lithium carbonate once commercial production begins.

Structuring the package as subsidiary equity and prepayment debt limits share dilution for Pursuit. Junior mining companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange have faced depressed equity valuations following a two-year decline in global lithium prices.

The arrangement provides EcoPro with commercial governance rights without requiring the Korean chemical producer to take on direct mine operatorship. Pursuit retains administrative management, local labor contracts and environmental remediation duties in Salta.

The investment mirrors similar upstream ventures executed by South Korean industrial peers in the Argentine salt flats. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings has committed billions of dollars to build lithium extraction facilities at the nearby Salar del Hombre Muerto.

The agreement signed in Australia remains a non-binding memorandum of understanding. The transaction requires formal confirmatory legal and technical due diligence before the companies can execute binding definitive agreements.

EcoPro and EcoPro Innovation have not published an official filing on the Korea Exchange regarding the agreement. Pursuit did not disclose the commercial pricing benchmark or interest rate structure for the $20 million advance payment loan.

Pursuit said it will work to finalize the $120 million senior debt facility over coming months. The company aims to complete binding documentation with EcoPro before commencing commercial plant construction in 2027.