Rio Expands in Battery Metals With $2.4 Billion Lithium Mine

Rio Tinto Group plans to spend $2.4 billion building a lithium mine in Serbia, in the latest sign that the biggest miners are pushing into metals poised to benefit from the green-energy transition.

The biggest producers are churning out record profits after commodities rallied this year, raising the question of what the industry will do with all the extra cash. Most have been focused on returning money to shareholders through dividends and buybacks -- analysts are expecting more big payouts in the coming weeks, including from Rio itself when the world’s second-biggest miner reports financial results on Wednesday.