Mining giant Rio Tinto in talks to buy U.S. lithium producer Arcadium

The world's second-largest miner Rio Tinto expressed interest in acquiring U.S. lithium producer Arcadium, the two companies confirmed in separate statements on Monday.

No financial specifics were disclosed. Rio Tinto said that there is no certainty that any transaction will be agreed to.

Arcadium Lithium's market value currently stands at $3.31 billion, according to data from LSEG. The company's Australian-listed shares jumped over 42% in early Monday trade.

If the deal goes through, Rio Tinto would become one of the largest suppliers of lithium, trailing only Albemarle and SQM. Rio would also acquire access to lithium mines and processing plants across four continents. This move comes as mining companies seek to secure essential minerals for the global energy transition.

Lithium prices have been under pressure as a result of Chinese oversupply. Prices of the benchmark 99.2% lithium carbonate have fallen over 20% year-to-date to $10,800 per metric ton, data from FactSet shows. 

Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee, told CNBC that Rio Tinto had been waiting for a lithium downturn in order to pursue M&A that can deliver it a world scale lithium division.

"Arcadium has likely been in Rio Tinto's crosshairs for years, but lithium prices and valuations were high for a long time," he said.

"Ultimately, Rio Tinto only wanted to play in the lithium space if they were going to be a top three producer," he told CNBC via email, adding that the mining giant was struggling to achieve a tier one lithium exposure through organic means, exploration or smaller scale M&A. 

Rio has been encountering significant resistance in Serbia regarding its planned Jadar mine, which Rio believed had the potential to be a "world-class