Episode 134: Rio Tinto (Marnie Finlayson & Grant Donald)

My guests from Rio Tinto are Marnie Finlayson, MD of Battery Materials, and Grant Donald, GM of Strategic Marketing, Minerals.

Topics:

RT’s battery materials strategy

Being a leader in the green economy

Producing lithium from mine waste in California

The Rincon project in Argentina

The battle for lithium talent

Supporting local communities

Development timelines

Keeping up with technological change

RT’s view of the market going forward

RT’s thoughts on where their lithium will go

The status of the Jadar project in Serbia

Price

Being a leading force in the energy transition

How does RT’s battery business look in five years?

Rapid Fire

In my closing remarks I discuss Elon Musk’s tweet about getting in to lithium production. Lithium remains Elon and Tesla’s Achilles’ heel