Vicuña unveils US$18-billion mining investment project in Argentina
Vicuña to invest US$18 billion in gold, silver and copper mining; Joint venture between BHP and Lundin targets world top-five copper, gold and silver output; San Juan project could rank among world’s largest operations, with first production slated for 2030.
Mining giant Vicuña has announced an estimated US$18 billion investment in copper, gold and silver projects in Argentina under the framework of President Javier Milei’s RIGI major investment incentive scheme.
Vicuña is a joint venture between BHP and Lundin Mining, combining the Josemaría copper project in San Juan with the Filo del Sol copper, gold and silver deposit straddling the same province and Chile’s Atacama Region.
The company said the total outlay over the life of the project would reach US$18 billion. It projected that Vicuña could rank among the world’s top five copper, gold and silver operations.
Over its first 25 full years, average annual output is forecast at 395,000 tonnes of copper, 711,000 ounces of gold and 22.2 million ounces of silver.
During the first decade alone, production is expected to total 2.5 million tonnes of copper, 5.5 million ounces of gold and 214 million ounces of silver.
President Milei hailed the announcement as “excellent news.” He hosted the firm’s executives at the Casa Rosada on Tuesday to celebrate the announcement.
Company executives said their decision to move ahead with the investment was based on the predictability, stability and legal certainty offered by the RIGI scheme.
“Without this instrument, a development of this magnitude would not have been viable in Argentina.”
Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno credited the head of state for the breakthrough, saying that “thanks to the structural reforms,” most notably RIGI, “unprecedented direct foreign investments are moving forward.”
“Vicuña Corp, whose shareholders are BHP and Lundin Mining, has announced an estimated US$18 billion investment for the first 10 years of the Josemaría and Filo del Sol project, with US$7 billion to be invested between now and the first copper concentrate in 2030.”
He celebrated that Argentina “will have one of the largest copper, gold and silver mines in the world.”
“More investment, more exports and much more employment for Argentines,” he said. “We created the conditions for this to happen – and we will continue to move forward.”
“Argentina will be prosperous,” Quirno concluded.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo stated on social media that “this project wouldn’t exist without the RIGI.”
Ron Hochstein, Vicuña’s chief executive, described the initiative as “a transformational opportunity for Argentina.”
“As one of the most relevant undeveloped copper districts in the world, it has the potential to boost long-term economic growth through foreign investment, employment and higher income from exports,” he added.
A first stage centres on developing an open-pit mine and concentrator plant at Josemaría. The second stage will bring oxide resources at Filo del Sol into production and expand processing capacity. A final third stage envisages expanding the concentrator and developing the sulphide deposit to lift throughput to around 293,000 tonnes per day.
– TIMES/NA/PERFIL