Shares in other lithium companies also gained. SQM (NYSE: SQM) went up 2.3% to $41.40 apiece, giving it an $11.3 billion market cap; Lithium Americas (TSX: LAC) was up 6.7% to C$3.64, for a C$793.5 million market value; and Standard Lithium (TSXV: SLI, NYSE: SLI) gained 5.6% to C$2.24 apiece, for a market capitalization of C$386.9 million.
Albemarle said in an email to The Northern Miner that it wasn’t going to comment. The other lithium companies didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The acquisition talk comes as Rio faces challenges in developing its Jadar lithium project in Serbia that has been halted since 2022 out of concerns about environmental damage. But the project could become Europe’s biggest mine of the battery metal.
The buyout speculation also comes amid the ongoing slump in lithium prices, which have dropped 88% over the past two years. Battery-grade lithium hydroxide has fallen to $9,925 per tonne…
