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The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: HAYASHI Nobumitsu) signed on March 10 a loan agreement amounting to up to USD1,175 million, of which JBIC’s portion is USD240 million, with Rincon Mining Pty Limited (Rincon Mining) in Australia. The loan is co-financed with private financial institutions including Citibank, N.A., Tokyo Branch (agent bank), and Mizuho Bank, Ltd., as well as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) a member of the World Bank Group, Export Finance Australia (EFA), and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB Invest). JBIC will provide a partial guarantee for the co-financed portion extended by the private financial institutions.
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Rincon Mining, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto plc (Rio Tinto), is a company engaged in lithium exploration and development. The loan is intended to provide the funds necessary for Rincon Mining to carry out a lithium carbonate production project at the Rincón Salar in Salta Province, Argentina.
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Lithium is expected to see growing demand as a raw material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and other applications, driven by the increasing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems. Lithium resources, along with the refining and processing capacities, are geographically concentrated, and for Japan, which relies entirely on imports to meet its lithium demand, diversifying sources of supply is a critical challenge. In its Battery Industry Strategy, released in August 2022, the Government of Japan positions batteries, including automotive LIBs, as critical materials for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Furthermore, in the Policy on Initiatives to Secure a Stable Supply of Critical Minerals, revised in March 2024, lithium is designated as a critical mineral, and the government has committed to ensuring its stable supply.
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Rio Tinto has long been one of Japan’s largest suppliers of minerals and metals and has established deep relationships with Japanese companies across the entire supply chain, from upstream development to transportation. The loan is intended to support the business conducted through Rincon Mining by Rio Tinto, which aims to become one of the world’s leading suppliers of lithium, and is provided to an eligible foreign company
*1 that supports the lithium supply chains of Japanese companies. JBIC concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
*2 with Rio Tinto in November 2025 to strengthen cooperation in the field of mineral resources and metals, and the loan represents a concrete outcome of that MOU.
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By supporting Rio Tinto’s lithium production, the loan will help diversify lithium procurement sources for Japanese companies, thereby contributing toward the stable supply of important resources for Japan and enhancing the resilience of Japan’s lithium supply chain.
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As Japan’s policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to provide financial support to help secure a stable supply of mineral resources for Japan and Japanese companies by drawing on its various financial facilities and schemes for structuring projects and by performing its risk-assuming function.
