Rio seeking to divest some critical minerals assets in U.S., Bloomberg says

Rio Tinto (RIO) is seeking to divest its U.S. assets that produce boron, a critical mineral used in various applications ranging from fertilizers to glass making, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg’s Yvonne Yue Li, Jacob Lorinc, and Paul-Alain Hunt report. The company is expected to start a sales process for the California assets in the next two weeks, said the people. Buyers are likely to be private equity firms or chemical producers, the people added. The business includes a mine and processing operations in the Mojave Desert town of Boron, as well as a refinery and shipping facility in Los Angeles port and its Owens Lake mining operation near Sierra Nevada, the authors note.