London-based mining giant Rio Tinto is partnering with Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, to seek new copper discoveries in Chile’s Atacama region, Kallanish reports.

Under a new joint venture agreement announced by Rio on Tuesday, the companies will explore and potentially develop Agua de la Falda’s assets. For that, Rio will acquire PanAmerican Silver’s 57.74% operating stake in Agua de la Falda for $45 million and grant new smelter returns royalties. Codelco owns the remaining 42.26% stake in the company.

Rio will also purchase 100% of nearby concessions known as the Meridian Property for $500,000 and the grant of new smelter returns royalties, it notes.

The tenements held by Agua de la Falda were previously explored for precious metals, but the new joint venture will focus on copper following a prospectivity analysis carried out by Rio Tinto Exploration.

“Copper is critical for the global energy transition, which is at the heart of Rio Tinto’s strategy, and Chile is one of the most important sources of world supply as demand for copper in renewables and electrification grows,” comments Rio’s chief executive Jakob Stausholm. “Although this is an early-stage exploration project, we are very excited to be actively exploring in Chile in partnership with Codelco.”

Maximo Pacheco, chairman of Codelco, adds that public-private partnerships have proven to be successful for the company and Chile for many years. “We are convinced that this is a compelling alternative to move a project forward and to complement the significant exploration and project portfolio being developed exclusively by Codelco,” he adds.

Rio Tinto will also invest in lithium exploration in Rwanda under an agreement announced by UK-listed Aterian on Tuesday (see related story). Its push for energy transition materials also include a commitment to invest  $150m over the next 10 years to create a research centre in the UK, led by the Imperial College London. The so-called Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials will be established in the second half of the year.

“For the world to reach net zero, we must find better ways to provide the materials it needs. No single player can do this alone, and research and development plays a vital role,” says Stausholm.