China’s Zijin is in talks with Argentina to turn lithium into battery cathode

China’s Zijin Mining Group is in advanced talks to build a plant in Argentina that will turn some of the nation’s huge lithium reserves into cathodes used to make electric-vehicle batteries.

Zijin has agreed to partner with Camyen, the provincial mining company of Catamarca — part of South America’s lithium triangle — and a unit of state-run energy firm YPF SA in the project, according to two people familiar with the matter who aren’t authorized to speak publicly.