Australian mining group Rio Tinto has announced a partnership with the Chilean state-owned mining company Codelco. The pair have signed binding

Rio Tinto, which could be granted an intellectual property permit if its DLE technology is used for the project, will hold a majority of seats on a technical committee with Codelco, and move to a 50-50 split once production begins, according to a filing with Chile's financial regulator.

Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) said Monday it signed binding agreements with Chile's state-run miner Codelco to form a joint venture to develop and operate a high-grade lithium project in the Salar de Maricunga resource base.