Lithium Argentina AG

Lithium Argentina AG is a junior lithium producer headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, operating primarily in South America. The company's portfolio consists of 3 projects, comprising 1 operating mine and 2 advanced exploration projects. Key assets include Cauchari-Olaroz. The business model centers on advancing significant brine-based projects through a co-ownership structure, leveraging partner expertise and funding. The operational approach is designed for high-altitude environments, utilizing natural evaporation phenomena for brine concentration in a series of ponds before further processing. The chemical processing is complex, designed to produce battery-grade carbonate through a hydrometallurgical facility that includes polishing and impurity removal steps. This process requires careful management of brine composition and climatic conditions. The enterprise manages operational risks associated with flammable solvents and natural gas used in its utilities and processing, implementing specialized functions and vendor support to mitigate potential disruptions. The organization's strategy involves a multi-layered pond liner system and ongoing harvesting operations to maintain pond volume and improve recovery, addressing the unique challenges of its operational setting.

Strategic focus centers on the concurrent advancement of 2 major development initiatives, requiring disciplined management of time, resources, and personnel. A key objective involves collaborating with a strategic partner to prepare a regional development plan that evaluates synergies between adjacent assets. This plan includes significant technical collaboration to explore advanced processing technologies, including direct lithium extraction, to complement the existing conventional solar evaporation process. The enterprise aims to leverage its operational experience and learnings from its initial project to achieve capital cost efficiencies and optimize future development. A core element of the commercial strategy is to maintain uncommitted offtake rights for future projects, providing flexibility to engage new customers and secure financing to support the growth of the global chemical supply chain. The organization is also advancing a demonstration plant to confirm new processing technology on a commercial scale, supporting future expansion plans.

The board of directors is composed of 8 members, with 5 qualifying as independent directors, ensuring a majority of independent oversight. Governance is structured through 3 standing committees: the Audit and Risk Committee, the Governance, Nomination, Compensation and Leadership Committee, and the Sustainable Development Committee. Executive leadership includes an Executive Chair with over 25 years of experience in investment banking and asset management, and a President and CEO appointed in March 2024, who previously served as Head of Business Development at a major industry partner. The compensation program is benchmarked against a peer group of 15 companies with the assistance of an independent compensation consultant, Lane Caputo. The governance framework is reinforced by an Incentive Compensation Recovery Policy, adopted in 2023, which allows for the clawback of erroneously awarded incentive compensation from executives in the event of a required accounting restatement.

The organization's sustainability approach includes a Communities Relations Program initiated in 2009 to integrate local communities through infrastructure and education initiatives. Environmental management practices feature a tailings management system that utilizes filtered, dry-stacked salts, a method designed to reduce risks and environmental impacts compared to other tailings methods. The company conducts a participatory environmental monitoring process, carried out with external consultants and with observers from various local communities. In 2024, the enterprise initiated the Responsible Minerals Initiative's Responsible Sourcing Assurance Process to ensure its supply chain adheres to high ethical and environmental standards, and was added to the active list in December 2024. Facility design incorporates low carbon emissions by integrating sustainable energy sources and minimizing the use of non-renewable energy where feasible.

The company completed a significant reorganization in 2023 through a Separation Transaction, which created an independent public company, Lithium Americas Corp., to hold the North American business unit. The company's structure was also shaped by the acquisition of Millennial Lithium Corp. in 2022 and Arena Minerals Inc. in 2023. A key operational asset is held through Minera Exar S.A., an entity in which the company holds a 44.8% interest, alongside partners Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. (46.7%) and JEMSE (8.5%). In 2024, Ganfeng acquired a 14.9% interest in the company's subsidiary, Proyecto Pastos Grandes S.A., for $70 million. Major shareholders as of December 31, 2024, include General Motors Holdings LLC (9.265%) and GFL International Co., Limited (9.263%). A 3-year standstill agreement was established with Ganfeng in November 2024, restricting the acquisition of a controlling interest in the company.