Borax Argentina
Orocobre acquired Borax Argentina S.A. (Borax Argentina), a long established Argentine boron (or borate) minerals and refined chemicals producer, in August 2012 from Rio Tinto. Borax Argentina owns one of only a few important borate deposits globally that are in production.
Borax Argentina operate three open pit mines in Tincalayu, Sijes, and Porvenir located within the Jujuy and Salta Province in Northern Argentina. 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, borax decahydrate, borax pentahydrate, anhydrous borax and boroglas from concentrates and ulexite 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.
In December 2022 Allkem Limited completed the sale of Borax Argentina to Golden Wattle Springs and has acquired the María Victoria lithium tenement from Minera Santa Rita.
