New legislation, noteworthy transactions and news from the firms themselves. One email a week; unsubscribe from any issue.
China Desk
Ganfeng boosts its investment in Argentine lithium with USD 180 million and a new joint venture with Lithium Argentina
China’s Ganfeng Lithium completes a USD 180 million investment in Lithium Argentina and advances a mining joint venture in Salta, with international law firms involved
Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project in Jujuy, Argentina, developed by Ganfeng Lithium and Lithium Argentina alongside provincial company JEMSE
Ganfeng Lithium Group, one of China’s leading lithium producers, completed a strategic USD 180 million investment in Lithium Argentina AG through a convertible debt instrument, strengthening Chinese capital’s presence in Latin America’s critical minerals sector.
The transaction, which closed inSeptember 2026, is part of a broader collaboration strategy between the two companies, which also signed definitive agreements to consolidate three lithium projects in Argentina’s Salta province under a new corporate structure.
The deal is of particular interest to multinational companies, investors and legal advisers because it combines international corporate financing, potential changes in shareholdings, shared corporate governance and contractual protection mechanisms in cross-border mining projects.
It also highlights the growing sophistication of the investment structures used by Chinese groups to participate in the development of strategic resources in Latin America.
USD 180 million through convertible debt
Ganfeng’s investment was structured through the issuance of a six-year unsecured convertible bond, with an annual coupon of 4% and a conversion price of USD 12.50 per share.
The instrument initially allows Ganfeng to hold a creditor position and, if it exercises its conversion right, increase its shareholding in Lithium Argentina.
At closing, Ganfeng held approximately 9.6% of the company’s share capital . If it converts the bond in full, it would receive an additional 14.4 million shares and hold approximately 16.1% of the share capital on a fully diluted basis.
The conversion price represents a premium of approximately 96% to the volume-weighted average share price over the five trading days before the announcement.
The structure also includes provisions on changes of control, anti-dilution protection, financial hedging restrictions and future participation rights.
Conversion is subject to a cap of 19.99% of the outstanding share capital, under the announced terms.
The proceeds, together with Lithium Argentina’s own funds, are intended to repay a USD 259 million convertible debt due in January 2027.
From a financial perspective, the deal extends the company’s maturity profile and strengthens its balance sheet, while giving Ganfeng a route to increase its equity exposure.
The transaction’s legal work involved international firms with experience in capital markets, corporate finance and mining.
James Guttman, a partner at Dorsey & Whitney in Toronto, advised Lithium Argentina on Ganfeng’s strategic USD 180 million investment, completed in September 2026.
Guttman’s practice focuses on capital markets transactions, cross-border M&A and US securities regulation.
His experience includes advising Lithium Argentina on various financial and corporate transactions, including General Motors’ investment in 2023, convertible debt issuances and the corporate reorganisation that separated its US and Argentine assets.
He has also advised mining companies listed on North American exchanges on compliance with the disclosure requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and US listing requirements.
The Canadian firm Cassels lists Ganfeng’s USD 180 million investment among the transactions featured in its capital markets practice.
The firm has a professional relationship with Lithium Argentina and experience advising on its cross-border transactions.
That relationship includes advising Lithium Argentina in 2024 on the sale of a 15% interest in the Pastos Grandes project to a Ganfeng subsidiary for USD 70 million.
Cassels acted on that transaction through a team comprising David Redford, Cathy L. Mercer and Sean Baraich.
Available information does not establish that these three lawyers had specific roles in the September 2026 investment.
As for Ganfeng’s advisers, the external team involved in negotiating the convertible financing or the definitive agreements for the new joint venture has not been publicly identified with sufficient precision.
This distinction matters in separating confirmed legal mandates from the companies’ prior professional relationships.
A Chinese-majority joint venture with shared decision-making
In parallel, Ganfeng and Lithium Argentina signed definitive agreements to establish a joint venture integrating the Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes, Pastos Grandes and Sal de la Puna projects, located in Salta province.
The structure provides for a 67% interest for Ganfeng and 33% for Lithium Argentina.
Despite its majority interest, Ganfeng will not have unrestricted authority over all strategic decisions.
The agreements provide that certain key matters, including development plans, budgets and financing, require the approval of both partners.
This mechanism introduces a model of majority control combined with shared decision-making rights, which is particularly relevant in long-term mining partnerships.
Ganfeng will handle operations through its team in Salta, while a joint technical and financial committee will oversee key project decisions.
Both companies must contribute to financing in proportion to their interests, and annual contributions exceeding USD 20 million will require joint approval until project-level financing is completed.
Production marketing rights, known as offtake rights, will also be allocated in proportion to the shareholdings.
The integration is planned through Millennial Lithium B.V., a holding company incorporated in the Netherlands that will indirectly control the Argentine entities holding the projects.
The use of an international ownership structure raises additional issues involving corporate governance, international taxation, dividend distributions and regulatory coordination across jurisdictions.
Although the definitive agreements were announced in August, the documents reviewed do not independently confirm that the joint venture’s corporate closing has been completed.
A project targeting capacity of 150,000 tonnes a year
The new mining platform envisages the integrated development of the three projects, with target capacity of 150,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) a year, across three phases.
This figure represents projected capacity, not current production.
According to the companies, their combined historical investment in acquiring and developing the assets amounts to approximately USD 1.8 billion.
The project aims to make use of shared infrastructure and coordinate different areas of development within a single basin.
The companies have also begun seeking dedicated development financing, including the possibility of bringing in a minority strategic investor.
From a mining M&A perspective, consolidating assets under a single platform allows the companies to coordinate investment, manage shared infrastructure and allocate financial obligations among the participants.
RIGI and investment certainty
The development of Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes is linked to Argentina’s Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) .
The companies submitted an application in the first quarter of 2026 to include the full development of the platform, with target capacity of 150,000 tonnes a year.
According to corporate information published in August 2026, the application was still pending a decision.
RIGI establishes a framework of tax, customs and foreign-exchange incentives for certain large-scale investments, subject to the requirements set out in Argentine law.
For international investors, access to these benefits can be decisive when structuring mining projects involving substantial capital commitments and long payback periods.
Regulatory stability, investment protection and predictable financing mechanisms are particularly important when projects require several decades of development and operation.
However, submitting an application does not mean the regime has been approved or guarantee that its benefits will be granted.
The role of legal teams in Argentina and China
Ganfeng and Lithium Argentina have a history of receiving legal advice across several jurisdictions.
In Argentina, Alfaro Abogados has advised on the joint venture between Lithium Americas and Ganfeng concerning Minera Exar, a company linked to the Cauchari-Olarozproject in Jujuy.
The firm has developed experience in corporate, contractual, regulatory and mining matters relating to international investment in natural resources.
This precedent establishes its professional connection to lithium investment development, but does not confirm its involvement in the 2026 agreements for the new Salta joint venture.
Within Ganfeng’s in-house legal function, Juan Martín Gilly serves as director of legal, institutional and community relations at Ganfeng Lithium Argentina.
His role covers areas of particular importance to mining projects: coordinating legal, institutional and community matters in an industry characterised by extensive engagement with provincial authorities, suppliers and local communities.
Gilly represented Ganfeng at Argentina Mining 2026, where he took part in institutional and supplier and government relations activities in Salta.
However, his direct involvement in negotiating the financing instruments or the corporate agreements announced in August has not been publicly confirmed.
In China, the firm Han Kun Law Offices has a track record of advising Ganfeng on international matters.
In September 2025, its Hong Kong office advised Ganfeng on a convertible bond issuance and H-share placement with an aggregate value of approximately HKD 2.54 billion.
The mandate covered capital markets matters and the listing of the instruments on international markets.
However, that advice related to a separate transaction and does not establish Han Kun’s involvement in the 2026 Argentine investment.
The precise identification of the legal teams involved in establishing the new joint venture remains to be confirmed.
China Minsheng finances Minera Exar with advice from TCA Tanoira Cassagne
Legal work related to Chinese investment in Argentine lithium is also reflected in another financing transaction completed in 2026.
China Minsheng Banking Corporation, through its Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone branch, participated as a lender in structuring a loan of up to USD 50 million to Minera Exar S.A.
The Argentine company is owned by Ganfeng Lithium, Lithium Argentina and Jujuy Energía y Minería Sociedad del Estado (JEMSE), and produces lithium carbonate at the Cauchari-Olaroz project in Jujuy province.
The loan proceeds are intended to meet working capital needs.
The Chinese bank was advised by TCA Tanoira Cassagne, through a team comprising partners Alexia Rosenthal and Ignacio Criado Díaz, together with associate Carolina Mercero.
The foreign-exchange advice was provided by partner Rocío Carrica and associate Joaquín López Matheu.
This financing is separate from Ganfeng’s USD 180 million investment in Lithium Argentina, although it is linked to the same corporate and mining ecosystem.
Its significance lies in the participation of a Chinese financial institution in financing an Argentine lithium producer’s operations and in the need to coordinate contractual, financial and foreign-exchange matters.
The transaction illustrates how Chinese involvement in Latin American mining extends beyond equity investments to include bank financing and support for project development.
Cauchari-Olaroz: an established partnership
Ganfeng and Lithium Argentina’s collaboration predates these new transactions.
Both companies have interests in Cauchari-Olaroz, a lithium production project in Jujuy.
Its shareholding structure comprises a 46.7% interest for Ganfeng, a 44.8% interest for Lithium Argentina and an 8.5% interest for JEMSE, a mining company linked to the provincial government of Jujuy.
JEMSE’s presence adds a provincial public-sector component to the ownership structure.
This partnership provides a precedent for understanding the new Salta agreement: the companies are seeking to replicate and expand a model combining international technical expertise, local operating knowledge and shared equity ownership.
Sam Pigott, CEO of Lithium Argentina, has said the new investment strengthens the company’s financial position and gives it greater flexibility to advance the expansion of Cauchari-Olaroz and the development of Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes.
For his part, Wang Xiaoshen, CEO of Ganfeng, has highlighted the importance of the business relationship built over nearly a decade and backed by joint investments of more than USD 2 billion in Argentina’s lithium sector.
Legal implications for Chinese investment in Latin America
The transaction offers an example of how strategic Chinese investment in Latin America is being structured, particularly in sectors linked to critical minerals and the energy transition.
One central feature is the use of convertible instruments, which combine debt financing with the possibility of increasing an equity stake.
These structures require careful attention to conversion prices, anti-dilution mechanisms, changes of control, investor rights and the regulatory obligations of listed companies.
Another important issue is the corporate governance of international joint ventures.
A majority interest does not always mean unrestricted control over strategic decisions. In long-term projects, reserved matters, veto rights and the composition of oversight bodies can be as important as equity percentages.
Regulatory matters are also particularly important.
Lithium extraction projects require advice on mining rights, environmental permits, water management, community relations and obligations to national and provincial authorities.
This is compounded by the need to coordinate corporate, tax and financial laws when companies from different jurisdictions are involved.
The involvement of advisers in Canada, the United States, Argentina and China, both in the main transaction and in earlier or related deals, reflects the legal complexity of international mining project development.
A strategic relationship extending beyond mineral extraction
Ganfeng’s investment is part of a broader economic relationship between China and Latin America, in which critical minerals are playing an increasingly important role.
Lithium is an essential component of many batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems, increasing its importance in international supply chains.
For Chinese companies, investment in Latin American assets can help diversify supply and strengthen the international integration of their production chains.
For host countries, these transactions create opportunities for investment and industrial development, alongside regulatory, environmental, corporate and financial challenges.
The Ganfeng-Lithium Argentina partnership shows how this relationship is evolving towards more sophisticated corporate structures combining equity stakes, financial instruments, natural resource development and long-term commercial agreements.
For law firms and corporate legal departments, this evolution means a growing need for coordinated advice on M&A, structured finance, mining, capital markets, foreign investment and regulatory compliance.
The ability to negotiate and execute sustainable legal structures will be a decisive factor in developing new Chinese investment in Latin America’s critical minerals sector.
Key facts
Investment closed: Ganfeng Lithium completed a USD 180 million investment in Lithium Argentina on 15 September 2026
Convertible financing: Six-year unsecured bond, with a 4% annual coupon and a conversion price of USD 12.50 per share
Shareholding: Full conversion would allow Ganfeng to increase its approximate stake from 9.6% to 16.1% on a fully diluted basis
New joint venture: Definitive agreements to consolidate three lithium projects in Salta, with a 67% interest for Ganfeng and 33% for Lithium Argentina
Projected capacity: Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes targets annual capacity of 150,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent
Confirmed legal advice: James Guttman, a partner at Dorsey & Whitney, advised Lithium Argentina on the USD 180 million investment
Cassels: The Canadian firm lists the 2026 investment among its published transactions and advised Lithium Argentina on an earlier sale of an interest in Pastos Grandes
In-house legal advice: Juan Martín Gilly is director of legal, institutional and community relations at Ganfeng Lithium Argentina
Legal precedents: Alfaro Abogados advised on the partnership linked to Minera Exar, and Han Kun Law Offices advised Ganfeng on a 2025 international capital markets transaction
Related bank financing: China Minsheng Banking structured a loan of up to USD 50 million to Minera Exar, with advice from TCA Tanoira Cassagne
TCA team: Alexia Rosenthal, Ignacio Criado Díaz, Carolina Mercero, Rocío Carrica and Joaquín López Matheu
Regulation: The Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes project applied to join Argentina’s Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI)
Closing remains unconfirmed: The new joint venture agreements were announced in August 2026, but their corporate closing could not be independently verified
