Lithium Argentina AG (LAR)

Lithium Argentina AG (formerly Western Lithium USA Corporation and Lithium Americas Corp.) is a Swiss-domiciled resource company focused on advancing significant lithium projects in Argentina. It was incorporated in British Columbia in 2007 and migrated its corporate domicile to Switzerland on January 23, 2025. Its shares trade on the TSX and NYSE under the symbol "LAR". In October 2023 it separated its North American business, including the Thacker Pass project, into an independent public company and retained its Argentine business. It also grew through the acquisitions of Millennial Lithium in 2022 and Arena Minerals in 2023.

The company's main asset is a 44.8% interest in the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium brine operation in Jujuy Province. The operation is held through Exar, which is also owned 46.7% by Ganfeng and 8.5% by JEMSE, a Jujuy government-owned mining investment company. Cauchari-Olaroz reached commercial production in October 2024 and produced about 25,400 tonnes of lithium carbonate in 2024. The company also holds an 85.1% interest in the Pastos Grandes Project in Salta, an exploration-stage project in which Ganfeng acquired a 14.9% stake for $70 million in August 2024. It holds a 65% interest in the exploration-stage Sal de la Puna project in Salta, with Ganfeng as joint venture partner, and 100% of the exploration-stage Antofalla Project in Catamarca. The company holds no patents.

The principal end-use product is lithium-based chemicals, particularly battery-grade lithium carbonate. Demand is driven largely by adoption of lithium batteries, especially in electric vehicles, and by grid-scale storage and small-format batteries. Lithium prices have been volatile, reaching an all-time high in 2022 and then falling significantly on rising supply and subdued demand. The company is entitled to 49% of Cauchari-Olaroz offtake, about 19,600 tonnes per year at full capacity. Offtake agreements from August 2020 cover sales to Ganfeng, which is entitled to 80% of the first 12,250 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate, and to Bangchak, which is entitled to up to 6,000 tonnes per year. About 3,800 tonnes per year remains uncommitted. In 2024 the company bought its share of Exar's lithium carbonate and resold it to Ganfeng and Bangchak as agent, with no net commission or inventory and price risk.

The company's registered and head office is in Zug, Switzerland, its operational headquarters is in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and it has a North American contact address in Vancouver. Under the shareholders' agreement, Ganfeng and the company govern Exar, with an 80% approval threshold for material actions that protects the company as a minority holder. Exar Capital provides project loans and buys reagents and materials from international suppliers on Exar's behalf, because Argentine foreign exchange rules restrict prepayments. The company says its raw materials are available through standard supply channels. Lithium production is dominated by a small number of companies, mainly from South American brine deposits, Australian spodumene deposits and Chinese lepidolite. Operations are subject to laws in Argentina, the U.S., Switzerland and Canada.