Salta Lithium-Led Exports Top US$300 Million

ARGENTINA · LITHIUM EXPORTS

Salta lithium exports led the Argentine province’s foreign sales in the first half of 2026, according to a report the provincial statistics office published on Tuesday 6 October 2026. El Tribuno’s summary of Sunday 18 October adds the plant-by-plant detail, with inorganic chemicals, the category led by lithium, earning US$300.6 million from January to June, or 31.4% of everything Salta shipped abroad.

For US readers the shift matters because the United States, which led Salta’s buyers a year earlier, fell to second place behind China. It took 21.3% of the province’s sales, against 25.9% for China.

The rise in Salta lithium exports follows a wave of new plants in the Puna, including the one we covered in POSCO Opens 23,000-Tonne Lithium Plant in Argentina. That Posco plant opened on Tuesday 6 October 2026 in the Salar del Hombre Muerto.

Why Salta Lithium Exports Jumped

El Tribuno names two reasons for the jump. Three plants in the Puna of Salta are nearing full output, and prices are higher.

The plants are Centenario-Ratones of France’s Eramet, which makes lithium carbonate, and Mariana of China’s Ganfeng Lithium, which makes lithium chloride. The third is Sal de Oro of South Korea’s Posco, which ships lithium phosphate to an industrial park in General Güemes to make hydroxide.

All three began producing between late 2024 and 2025, so they ship more each month as they climb to full capacity. Rio Tinto’s Rincón project also produces, on a much smaller scale, with an initial plant of 3,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate.

The volume exported in the category rose 54.6%, while its value rose 429.3%, the statistics office said. El Tribuno adds that the value of exports depends on international prices.

Rio Tinto is building an expansion to reach 50,000 tonnes a year, which we covered in Rio Tinto Plans US$2.7 Billion Lithium Project in Salta. Posco’s second Sal de Oro plant is to climb gradually to 23,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate.

The June Snapshot

Salta sold US$208.1 million abroad in June, 7.3% more than in May and almost double June 2025. Inorganic chemicals contributed US$98.5 million, close to half of the month.

Lithium carbonate led with US$52.3 million, followed by hydroxide at US$25.2 million and chloride at US$16.2 million. Together the three derivatives earned US$93.7 million in one month, about 95% of the category, according to the statistics office.

China Overtakes the United States as Top Buyer

China bought US$248 million of Salta’s exports, or 25.9% of the total, up 672.7% on a year earlier. The United States took 21.3%, up 45%, and the two together account for 47.2%.

Brazil (5.2%), the Netherlands (3.8%) and Vietnam (3.4%) follow in the ranking. South Korea (up 322.9%) and Italy (up 264.2%) were among the fastest-growing destinations.

China ranked second behind the United States in the first quarter, El Tribuno said, and lithium reversed the order in the following months. Industrial manufactures, where processed lithium sits, earned US$503.5 million (up 145.6%) and displaced primary products at US$368.6 million (up 43.4%).

Gold and Maize Behind Lithium

Precious stones and metals, which El Tribuno ties to the Lindero gold mine, ranked second at US$180 million, or 18.8% of the total, and maize third at US$127.1 million, or 13.3%. The top two products, both from mining, together make up 50.2% of the province’s exports.

Inorganic chemicals were only 3.7% of the weight shipped, or 41,070 tonnes, yet earned nearly a third of the foreign currency. Maize was 55.2% of the weight, at 607,093 tonnes, and only 13.3% of the value.

El Tribuno calculates that a tonne of the chemicals fetched about US$7,300 on average, against about US$209 for a tonne of maize. Precious metals followed a similar pattern, with the volume down 47.1% while the value rose 33%.

Mining Exports Through August According to El Tribuno

El Tribuno also cites a separate national mining report based on customs data, which we could not open, for January to August. It says Salta’s mining exports reached US$706 million, up 143%, more than double the 65.7% growth of national mining exports.

According to El Tribuno, Argentina’s mining exports reached US$6.059 billion in the eight months, and the three mining provinces of the north-west, Catamarca, Jujuy and Salta, shipped US$2.281 billion, up 113%. Salta supplied about a third of that group, behind Jujuy at US$1.156 billion and ahead of Catamarca at US$419 million.

The newspaper adds that lithium accounted for 64.3% of the group’s mining exports in the eight months, and that China took 67.1% of those sales. The United States took 14.1%, South Korea 6.6% and Brazil 2.9%, it said.

The trade outlet Panorama Minero reported a similar picture on 11 August, citing the national mining secretariat for the first half. It put Salta’s mining exports at US$501 million for January to June, against US$205.1 million a year earlier.

What It Means for You

For US investors and buyers, the data show that Salta lithium exports are now large enough to move a province’s trade figures. They also show that China is the main buyer of Salta’s lithium, with the United States second overall.

Salta holds nine of the 14 advanced-stage lithium projects in a recent national mining study, El Tribuno said, so supply could keep growing. The value of the exports will still follow lithium prices, which the newspaper names as the swing factor.

Our guide Lithium in Latin America 2026: Inside the Lithium Triangle explains where Salta sits among the region’s salt flats. Our earlier look at national mining exports, in Argentina Mining Exports Jump 75 Percent, but Most of It Is the Gold Price, showed how much the gold price had driven the total.

What Is Not Known

The provincial statistics office’s June 2026 report, which uses provisional INDEC data that may be revised, confirms the first-half Salta figures cited here. The January to August mining figures rest on El Tribuno alone, and the first-half mining figures from Panorama Minero use different definitions.

The inorganic chemicals category also holds borates, so it is not purely lithium. The statistics office says the three lithium derivatives were about 95% of it in June, but it gives no share for the half year.

The data cover six months, so it is not known whether lithium stays first for the full year. That depends on prices and on second-half sales of maize and gold, and the sources give no forecast.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is now Salta’s biggest export?

Inorganic chemicals, a category led by lithium, earned US$300.6 million from January to June. That was 31.4% of all exports from Salta.

How much did lithium exports grow?

The category rose 429.3% against the first half of 2025. The volume exported rose 54.6%, while its value rose more than fivefold.

Who is Salta’s biggest buyer now?

China, with US$248 million or 25.9% of exports. The United States is second with 21.3%.

Which companies produce lithium in Salta?

Eramet, Ganfeng Lithium and Posco run the three plants nearing full output, and Rio Tinto produces on a smaller scale. Posco opened a second Sal de Oro plant on Tuesday 6 October 2026.

What does it mean for US readers?

The United States has lost first place among Salta’s buyers to China, though it still takes 21.3% of the province’s exports. The value of lithium sales will keep following international prices.

Sources: Dirección General de Estadísticas y Censo de Salta, 6 October 2026 (Informe de Exportaciones, Junio 2026); El Tribuno, 18 October 2026; Panorama Minero, 11 August 2026; Secretaría de Minería de la Nación, reports and studies.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief

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