With its resource endowment, cost efficiency, and environmental advantages, salt lake lithium has garnered significant industry attention for its development prospects. Under the battery materials industrial ecosystem of "resource development, intelligent material manufacturing, and global circularity," CNGR has adopted a counter-cyclical and forward-looking approach to deploy resources in Argentina's salt lake lithium sector. By acquiring a controlling stake in the Jama project and taking an equity position in the Solaroz project, the company has secured premium resources exceeding 10 million metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), further strengthening the foundation for its sustainable development.
Counter-Cyclical Deployment in the "Lithium Triangle" to Build Long-Term Global Market Competitiveness
Salt lake lithium has become mainstream in the industry due to its irreplaceable core advantages: in terms of resource endowment, 58% of global proven lithium resources exist in the form of salt lake brines, with the South American "Lithium Triangle" being the core enrichment zone for global salt lake lithium resources; from a cost perspective, the cash cost of lithium extraction from salt lakes is significantly lower than that from hard-rock lithium mines; and from an environmental standpoint, its energy consumption and carbon emissions are far lower than those of mining, aligning better with global ESG trends.
Among the South American "Lithium Triangle," Argentina has emerged as a strategic choice for CNGR due to its unique advantages. On one hand, Argentina possesses proven lithium reserves of 22 million tons; on the other, its open policy of attracting foreign investment provides a stable business environment for overseas capital. Building on this foundation, CNGR's deployment of salt lake lithium projects in Argentina will have a positive impact on the company's global supply chain, cost structure, and industrial ecosystem:
1. Resource Risk Hedging: Amid constraints on some lithium mica projects and the nationalization of resources in certain countries, this initiative serves as an effective supplement to hard-rock lithium routes, ensuring the security of raw material supply.
2. Locking in Cost Advantages: Acquiring resources during a low point in the industry cycle reduces mining rights costs, laying the groundwork for the company's long-term competitiveness.
3. Global Market Coordination: Diversifying resource channels helps mitigate risks associated with reliance on a single region, enhancing supply resilience for the international market.
4. Building an Industrial Chain Closed Loop: By integrating with nickel resources in Indonesia, phosphorus resources in Guizhou, and battery material bases in Morocco, South Korea, and domestic locations, this initiative fosters a globally coordinated ecosystem with synergistic "nickel-phosphorus-lithium" resources.
Currently, the company has completed the acquisition of the Jama project in Argentina in February 2025 and partially finalized the Solaroz project in April 2025, with full completion expected in the near future. This marks a significant acceleration in CNGR's strategic deployment in the salt lake lithium sector.
With over 10 million tons of resource reserves, technological advancements and policy support enhance the project's competitiveness.
CNGR's Jama and Solaroz projects in Argentina are both located in the core region of the "Lithium Triangle," with significant resource endowments and development potential. Among them, the Jama project has a resource volume of approximately 7 million metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), while the Solaroz project holds about 3
million metric tons of LCE. Combined, these projects total over 10 million metric tons of LCE, laying a solid foundation for large-scale development. This also provides a secure and reliable guarantee for CNGR's lithium resource supply, representing another dynamic practice of the company's "Global Development" strategy.
In 2024, CNGR's 10,000-ton recycled battery-grade lithium carbonate production line in Tongren has achieved full-capacity operation, laying a solid foundation for the development of lithium resources from salt lakes in Argentina. Leveraging this mature expertise, CNGR will continuously enhance the market competitiveness of its Argentina project and promote sustainable development through the deep integration of technological innovation and local policy incentives. Technically, the project will adopt direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to avoid the lengthy cycle and lithium loss issues associated with traditional evaporation pond methods, thereby improving recovery rates while reducing operational costs and strengthening competitiveness. In terms of local policy support, the company’s project team is actively preparing to apply for Argentina's Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI). If approved, the project will benefit from a 30-year regulatory and tax stability period, along with multiple incentives such as a reduced corporate income tax rate, zero tariffs on imported capital goods, phased exemption from export duties, and gradually liberalized repatriation of foreign exchange earnings. These measures will effectively mitigate country-specific risks for the Argentina project and enhance its overall expected returns.
In the future, CNGR Co., Ltd. will continue to deepen the development and operation of its lithium brine project in Argentina. Through technological innovation, the company aims to enhance lithium extraction efficiency and reduce unit costs. Leveraging its global industrial network, it will efficiently convert high-quality lithium resources into value for the industrial chain, providing stable and reliable material support for the global battery industry. Guided by its corporate vision of "becoming a globally leading new materials science company," CNGR is committed to contributing even greater strength to the advancement of the global new energy sector.
