SANTIAGO, May 23 (Reuters) - Chile's state-run mining firm ENAMI aims for its new Rio Tinto lithium partnership at Altoandinos to begin production in 2032 with 35,000 metric tons of the battery metal per year, and ramp up over three years to 75,000 tons, ENAMI company chief Ivan Mlynarz said on Friday.
Speaking in an interview in Santiago, he added that tests of Rio Tinto's direct lithium extraction technology in Chile have yielded encouraging results.