Lithium Argentina pegs Cauchari-Olaroz Stage 2 after-tax NPV8% at $3.1 billion in scoping study
LAR•Lithium Argentina's scoping study for the Cauchari-Olaroz Stage 2 expansion estimates an after-tax NPV8% of $3.1 billion, an IRR of 28.5% and payback of about five years at a lithium carbonate price of $18,000 per tonne.
1. Expansion economics
The proposed expansion in Argentina targets 45,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate, with estimated capital costs of about $1 billion and projected operating costs of $5,006 per tonne. It would raise total Cauchari-Olaroz capacity to about 85,000 tonnes per year; the study assumes a 40-year operating life. Plans include accelerating an initial 10,000-tonne-per-year adsorption DLE module for a 2028 start-up, subject to permitting and technology transfer approvals.
