Dongwu Electric & New Energy: Rio Tinto 26Q2 Operating Update: Sal de Vida and Fénix 1B Put into Production Early, Expect 26H2 Production +30% QoQ

English summary

# 26Q2 lithium business overall: ①Production: 26Q2 attributable lithium carbonate LCE production was 14.6k tons, +20%/+15% YoY/QoQ, mainly due to Rincon start-up plant ramping up, plus Sal de Vida and Fénix 1B coming online early in 26Q2. Mt Cattlin has been on care and maintenance since March 2025. ②Sales: 26Q2 lithium carbonate shipments LCE 15.7k tons, +11%/+11% YoY/QoQ. ③Price: 26Q2 average battery-grade lithium carbonate price was USD 22k/ton, +13% QoQ. # Other lithium project progress: Sal de Vida and Fénix 1B put into production early. ①Rincon expansion: planned capacity LCE 60k tons/year (3k tons start-up plant +57k tons expansion), 100% owned by Rio Tinto. The 3k-ton start-up plant continued to ramp up in 26Q2, producing 385 tons in the quarter, expected to reach full capacity by end-2026; the 57k-ton target is for 2028.…