Allkem Limited, known as Orocobre Limited until 30 November 2021, is a mineral resource company based in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The company's present focus is on lithium and borax mining operations within

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Since 2007 Orocobre Ltd. is registered at the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as ...

ASX (symbol: ORE) and as of 2010 listed on the (Toronto Stock Exchange) TSX (symbol: ORL). The company is included in the

S&P/ASX 300 The S&P/ASX 300, or simply, ASX 300, is a stock market index of Australian stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The index is market-capitalisation weighted, meaning each company included is in proportion to the indexes tot ...

Index.

Projects

Salar de Olaroz

The Salar de Olaroz is a

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...

in the

province of Jujuy Jujuy is a province of Argentina, located in the extreme northwest of the country, at the borders with Chile and Bolivia. The only neighboring Argentine province is Salta to the east and south. Geography There are three main areas in Jujuy: ...

in northwestern Argentina, close to the Chilean border. The project consists of 63,000 hectares of tenements over a salar known to contain high values of

lithium Lithium (from el, λίθος, lithos, lit=stone) is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid el ...

and

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

in brine. In October 2012, Orocobre and

Toyota Tsusho Corporation is a sōgō shōsha (trading company), a member of the Toyota Group. Toyota Tsusho has a worldwide presence through its many subsidiaries and operating divisions, including over 150 offices, and 900 subsidiaries and affiliates around the world. ...

(TTC) executed a definitive joint venture agreement to develop the Olaroz Lithium Project. Earlier in the year, in June 2012, Orocobre had entered into an agreement with Jujuy Energia y Mineria Sociedad del Estado (JEMSE), a mining investment company owned by the provincial Government of Jujuy, whereby JEMSE will hold an equity interest in the Olaroz project and in return provide assistance during its development. Results from a definitive feasibility study (DFS) released May 3, 2011 suggest that the Olaroz project has a large resource base of 6.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent with a project mine life estimated at 40 years. The design capacity of the Olaroz operation has been increased to 17,500 tonnes per annum (tpa) of battery grade

lithium carbonate Lithium carbonate is an inorganic compound, the lithium salt (chemistry), salt of carbonate with the chemical formula, formula . This white Salt (chemistry), salt is widely used in the processing of metal oxides. It is listed on the World Health O ...

, from 16,400 tpa originally provided for in the DFS. Expected potash recovery has also been increased to approximately 20,000 tpa compared to 10,000 tpa. Potash operations are not currently included in the immediate project plans or economics at this time, but are said to be considered in future development phases.

Borax Argentina

Orocobre acquired Borax Argentina S.A. (Borax Argentina), a long established Argentine

boron Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the ''boron group'' it has th ...

(or borate) minerals and refined chemicals producer, in August 2012 from

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, a ...

PLC. Borax Argentina owns one of only a few important borate deposits globally that are in production. Borax Argentina operate three

open pit Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of mining ...

mines in Tincalayu, Sijes, and Porvenir located within the

Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in Argentine Northwest, northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Depa ...

and

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

Province in Northern

. Borate mining operations have been undertaken in the area for over 50 years with a recent announcement by Ororocbre suggesting a positive outlook for future mining operation with the presence of long-life high quality ore reserves. Currently, Borax Argentina's operations produce a variety of boron chemical products, including

boric acid Boric acid, more specifically orthoboric acid, is a compound of boron, oxygen, and hydrogen with formula . It may also be called hydrogen borate or boracic acid. It is usually encountered as colorless crystals or a white powder, that dissolves ...

, borax decahydrate, borax pentahydrate, anhydrous borax and boroglas from concentrates and

ulexite Ulexite (NaCaB5O6(OH)6·5H2O, hydrated sodium calcium borate hydroxide), sometimes known as TV rock or Television stone, is a mineral occurring in silky white rounded crystalline masses or in parallel fibers. The natural fibers of ulexite conduc ...

minerals carted from the mines and concentrators. In addition, the mine and concentrator at Sijes produce mineral concentrates for direct sale. On 1 July 2013 Orocobre announced the relocation of the borax chemical plant from its location in Campo Quijano (close to the city of Salta) to the Tincalayu mine site. The relocation of the borax chemical plant is said to have significant financial benefits for the company through a reduction of both operating and logistics cost. The relocation project is said to be completed by the end of June 2014 within a budget cost of US$3.7m.

Cauchari

The Salar de Cauchari

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

resource, owned by South American salar Minerals Pty Ltd, has over 30,000 ha in Jujuy province immediately south of the Olaroz Project. The Cauchari project has similar geo-chemical characteristics to the Olaroz resource and provides a nearby additional

brine Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used for br ...

source for future expansions of the planned Olaroz production facility at relatively low incremental capital cost.

Salinas Grandes

In early 2010, Orocobre announced the discovery by South American Salars of what was believed to be very attractive

and

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...

sampling results at Salinas Grandes. Sampling indicated highly concentrated levels of lithium and potassium over an area of the nucleus covering approximately 60 square kilometres. Initial resource estimates undertaken by an independent

hydrogeological Hydrogeology (''hydro-'' meaning water, and ''-geology'' meaning the study of the Earth) is the area of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the soil and rocks of the Earth's crust (commonly in aquif ...

assessment for Salinas Grandes were announced by Orocobre March 2012. These findings estimated an inferred resource equivalent to 239,200 tonnes of

and 1.03 million tonnes of

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

Guayatoyoc

Guayatoyoc is a high grade

Potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...

discovery in the Puna Region of Northwest Argentina. The high potassium grades combined in close proximity to the Olaroz operation account for potential factors in Orocobre's economic interest in the Guayatoyoc Project.

Corporate social responsibility

Orocobre engages in a number of

corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethicall ...

ventures with the local communities, business partners and employees across its operations in Argentina. Key areas of focus have been in the assistance and development of education, health and worker skill/business advancement. Educational assistance has been provided through the implementation of various technology, sporting and academic activities aimed at the youth of Argentine's Puna region. Orocobre has also been activate in preventative health programs for the local communities through joint assistance with the Beñen Hospital in Susques (

Jujuy Province Jujuy is a province of Argentina, located in the extreme northwest of the country, at the borders with Chile and Bolivia. The only neighboring Argentine province is Salta to the east and south. Geography There are three main areas in Jujuy: * ...

) and the Hospital of San Antonio de los Cobres in Salta Province. Local towns and villages have been provided access to

paediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

odontology Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...

audiology Audiology (from Latin , "to hear"; and from Greek , ''-logia'') is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage. By employing various ...

, and

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

services that were previously not available. Increased employment opportunities and skill-set training were also active parts of Orocobre's corporate social responsibilities. The positive socioeconomic effects from Orocobre's projects are also being embraced by non-affiliated local businesses such as food stores, accommodation and transport providers.

References

Orocobre company presentationOrocobre ASX announcementOrocobre prospectus 2007Olaroz resource estimateOlaroz scoping study

External links

Official Orocobre Website

Official Sales De Jujuy Website

Official Borax Argentina Website
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