Oct 7 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto is in talks

with lithium producer Arcadium for a buyout that would

make the Anglo-Australian mining company a major player in the

global lithium industry.

Reuters was first to report the talks on Friday. The companies

confirmed discussions on Monday.

Arcadium was formed only in January by the merger of

Australia-based Allkem and U.S.-based Livent which brought

together lithium mines, processing facilities and deposits

across four continents. Those companies were themselves the

creations of past deals that cobbled together some of the

world's most prized lithium assets.

Here is a timeline of major events leading to Arcadium's

creation.

1944: The Lithium Corp of America is founded in part to help

supply the U.S. government with a type of lithium needed for the

Manhattan Project. The new company begins digging for the metal

in North Carolina.

May 1985: Agricultural chemical producer FMC buys Lithium

Corp of America and grows to become the largest producer in the

world, a title it eventually cedes.

October 1997: FMC begins lithium production at Argentina's

Salar de Hombre Muerto in the country's far north using

evaporation ponds.

February 1998: With Argentina production under way, FMC

closes its lithium mine in North Carolina.

June 1998: FMC adds an early version of Direct Lithium

Extraction to its Salar de Hombre Muerto operations, becoming

the first company to use the technology in tandem with ponds.

Engineers at the site are still considered world experts in DLE

integration.

December 2007: Australia-based Orocobre begins trading on

the Australian Stock Exchange after discovering the Olaroz

lithium deposit in Argentina while searching for gold and

copper. ("Orocobre" is a portmanteau of the Spanish words for

those two metals.)

October 2009: Galaxy Resources begins construction on

Western Australia's Mt. Cattlin lithium mine, one of the

country's largest sources of the battery metal. The mine is

mothballed by Arcadium in September 2024 amid low lithium

prices.

January 2010: Australian-based Orocobre agrees to develop Olaroz

with a sister company to Toyota Motor ( TM ).

December 2014: Orocobre opens the Olaroz lithium facility.

May 2018: Galaxy releases an updated feasibility study for

its Sal de Vida lithium project in Argentina. The project is

still under development as of October 2024.

October 2018: FMC spins off its lithium division as

Livent.

October 2018: Galaxy releases an environmental study on its

proposed James Bay lithium project in Canada. The asset had yet

to be developed as of October 2024.

April 2020: Orocobre buys Advantage Lithium in a deal that

gives it control of the Cauchari lithium deposit in Argentina,

near one from Lithium Argentina.

November 2020: Livent agrees to form a joint venture to buy

Quebec's troubled Nemaska lithium project. The company also

extends a lucrative deal to supply the battery metal to Tesla

.

April 2021: Australia's Orocobre says it will pay $1.4 billion

for smaller rival Galaxy Resources in an all-stock deal that

brought together hard rock, brine and chemicals assets across

Australia, Argentina, Canada and Japan.

November 2021: Orocobre changes its name to Allkem, a

reference to lithium's position near the top of the Periodic

Table of Elements.

August 2022: The U.S. government approves the Inflation

Reduction Act, a positive harbinger for lithium-producing

countries that have trade deals with Washington, including

Australia and Canada.

August 2022: General Motors ( GM ) agrees to prepay Livent $198

million for a guaranteed supply of lithium.

December 2023: Livent invests in ILiAD, a DLE technology

developer.

January 2024: Allkem and Livent merge to form Arcadium, with

each company getting six seats on the new firm's board of

directors. The new company's name is a reference to its multiple

assets across Argentina, Australia, Canada and elsewhere.

October 2024: Rio Tinto and Arcadium confirm a Reuters report

that they are in negotiations.