Lithium Argentina announced this week it has closed a $180 million strategic investment from China's Ganfeng Lithium, the latest sign of Chinese capital continuing to flow into Argentina's lithium sector even as the broader battery-metals market stays soft.
The investment takes the form of a six-year unsecured convertible note carrying a 4% annual coupon, convertible into Lithium Argentina shares at $12.50 apiece. The company said the proceeds will go toward repaying $259 million in convertible notes coming due in January 2027, with the remainder, combined with existing cash, supporting a second-stage expansion at the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium brine project in Jujuy province and the newly consolidated Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes joint venture.
"That combination gives us the flexibility to advance Stage 2 at Cauchari-Olaroz and support PPG in a disciplined, phased approach," said Lithium Argentina CEO Sam Pigott.
Ganfeng already holds about 9.6% of Lithium Argentina's outstanding shares. If it converts the note in full, it would receive 14.4 million additional shares, raising its stake to roughly 16.1% on a fully diluted basis — deepening the Chinese producer's foothold in a project it already partly owns.
The deal lands as Argentina's government has leaned on foreign direct investment, including through its RIGI investment-incentive regime, to offset a soft global lithium price that has squeezed producers' margins since 2023. Jujuy's Salar de Olaroz basin, where Cauchari-Olaroz sits, has become one of the clearest test cases of whether Argentina's brine deposits can keep attracting capital through a down cycle in a commodity that was, until recently, central to the country's export ambitions.