Lithium Argentina finalized definitive agreements with Ganfeng Lithium Group to establish the Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes joint venture in Salta Province, Argentina, while concurrently securing a $180 million strategic investment via a six-year convertible note to retire upcoming debt and fund regional expansion initiatives.
Consolidating the Salta Province Assets
Earlier this week, Lithium Argentina AG and Ganfeng Lithium Group Co., Ltd. announced a major restructuring of their Argentine lithium portfolio. The cornerstone of the agreement is the formalization of the Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes joint venture, known as the PPG JV. This pact brings together three adjacent projects in Salta Province, Argentina – Ganfeng’s Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes project alongside Lithium Argentina’s Pastos Grandes and Sal de la Puna developments. By merging these contiguous assets into a single basin-wide operation, the partners aim to streamline infrastructure and accelerate development timelines across one of the largest consolidated lithium brine resource bases in the world.
Here is why that matters for the regional economy. Pooling these resources allows the joint venture to target an integrated development plan of 150,000 tonnes per annum of lithium carbonate equivalent across three distinct phases. Governance terms grant Ganfeng a 67% interest while Lithium Argentina holds the remaining 33%, with major strategic decisions requiring unanimous approval from both partners.
Strengthening the Balance Sheet Through Convertible Debt
Beyond the structural reorganization in Salta Province, the partnership involves a substantial capital injection designed to address near-term financial liabilities. Ganfeng has committed $180 million through an unsecured convertible note carrying a 4.0% coupon with a six-year maturity. The instrument converts into Lithium Argentina common shares at $12.50 each—a striking 96% premium to the five-day volume-weighted average price on the New York Stock Exchange recorded for the period ending August 21, 2026.
Management intends to use these proceeds, supplemented by existing cash reserves, to fully settle a $259 million convertible debt obligation due in January 2027. Sam Pigott, CEO of Lithium Argentina, noted that these transactions reinforce the balance sheet and limit equity dilution for current shareholders while optimizing capital allocation across the company’s asset base.
| Project / Facility | Primary Partner Stake | Target Capacity & Focus |
|---|---|---|
| PPG Joint Venture (Salta Province) | Ganfeng (67%) / Lithium Argentina (33%) | 150,000 tpa LCE across three integrated phases |
| Cauchari-Olaroz (Jujuy) | Existing operational partnership | Advancing Stage 2 expansion with over $300M in liquidity |
But there is a broader operational strategy at play here. With the debt maturity hurdle cleared and the Salta Province assets consolidated, Lithium Argentina can focus its internal capital on the Cauchari-Olaroz operation in neighboring Jujuy Province. That facility currently boasts over $300 million in liquidity, low-cost financing avenues, and steady free cash flow generation, providing a secure financial bedrock to fund the Stage 2 expansion organically.
A Decade-Long Bilateral Partnership in South America
This latest agreement builds upon nearly ten years of collaboration between the two firms, which have collectively poured more than $2 billion into Argentina’s burgeoning energy transition sector. Wang Xiaoshen, CEO of Ganfeng, emphasized that the enduring partnership at Cauchari-Olaroz—currently the largest lithium brine operation in Argentina—demonstrates the viability of bilateral industrial cooperation between Western resource developers and major Chinese processing leaders.
The joint venture relies on Ganfeng’s operational footprint in Salta Province to manage day-to-day activities, supervised by a joint technical and financial committee. Both parties retain proportional offtake rights to the chemical output.
What remains to be seen is how quickly the joint venture can complete its broader project-level financing process, which includes evaluating additional debt packages and potential minority strategic investors.
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