Rio Tinto is buying Arcadium Lithium for $6.7 billion as the Anglo-Australian miner seeks to diversify beyond its primary products of iron ore, copper, and aluminum.Rio Tinto confirmed the deal in a press release early Wednesday.

LONDON/MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Rio Tinto has agreed to buy U.S. based Arcadium Lithium for $6.7 billion, it said on Wednesday, a deal that will catapult it to become the world's third largest miner of the metal used in electric vehicle batteries.

Rio Tinto said it has agreed to a $6.7 billion takeover of Arcadium Lithium, propelling it into the ranks of the top producers of a key commodity used in batteries for electric vehicles.