MELBOURNE : A lithium technology startup backed by Rio Tinto expects to finalise a funding round in the next week to raise A$29 million ($19 million), even as the global lithium market struggles, its Melbourne-based CEO told Reuters. ElectraLith is developing a filtration technology that can extract lithium from brine deposits without using water or chemicals, which would be key in arid areas like Chile's Atacama desert, and needs only small amounts of energy. "The lithium market is not great,