Rio Tinto. expects its lithium business to grow faster than its copper, iron ore and other divisions as it works to triple production by 2028 for the electric vehicle and battery storage markets, an executive said on Tuesday. The world's second-largest mining company jumped into the lithium sector last year when it bought U.S.-based Arcadium, a deal that brought access to mines, processing facilities and deposits across four continents, as well as a customer base that includes Tesla. Rio has been integrating those assets amid a lithium price crash caused in part by Chinese oversupply, a market malaise that forced a wave of industry layoffs and has only begun to abate in recent months.