Buenos aires: South Korean steelmaker POSCO Holdings Co. announced that it has secured a $700 million credit facility from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group to bolster its lithium operations in Argentina.

According to Yonhap News Agency, POSCO Argentina received approval on August 4 for a short-term credit facility from IDB Invest, the private-sector arm of the IDB Group. This financing is set to support POSCO's expansion of its lithium resource base in the Hombre Muerto salt flat, an area renowned for its lithium deposits.

POSCO indicated that the credit facility will provide necessary working capital for its first and second lithium brine plants. The second plant is slated for completion in the latter half of this year.

The approval for this financing came in the wake of a summit on July 31, where President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea and Argentine President Javier Milei agreed to enhance cooperation on critical mineral supply chains.