The mining companies of the main projects copper in Argentina they formed the call “Copper Table” to promote the development in the country of a mineral with high global demand due to the promotion of electromobility, said a source from the sector.
Argentina has not produced copper since the Alumbrera mine closed in 2018, but it has a pipeline of projects that could position it among the top 10 global producers of the metal by 2030, according to official and industry estimates.
The mining firms of the Josemaría, El Pachón, MARA, Taca Taca, Los Azules, Altar and Filo del Sol projects are the ones that make up the Copper Table, which was launched on Tuesday.
“The Copper Table was launched. The idea is to have a common discourse, reliable information, have all the same numbers and together try to find the conditions so that we can move forward “said Alfredo Vitaller, VP of Corporate Affairs of Lundin Mining’s Josemaría project, the most advanced in the country, to a small group of journalists late Tuesday.
“We believe that investment in the next 10 years among the five copper projects that exist can be in the order of 15,000, 20,000 million dollars”Vitaller added in the framework of Arminera, an event organized by the Argentine Chamber of Mining Entrepreneurs (CAEM) and Messe Frankfurt in Buenos Aires.
The executive made reference to Josemaría, who has already approved the feasibility and environmental impact report, Pachón, from Glencore; Los Azules, from McEwen Mining; MARA, of Yamana Gold Inc, Glencore and Newmont Corp, and Taca Taca, of First Quantum Minerals.
For Vitaller, the three San Juan projects could turn the Andean province into the “Dead cow” of copper, in reference to the name of the second unconventional gas reserve in the world and the fourth oil reserve, located in Argentine Patagonia.
“If San Juan develops the three copper projects it has (Josemaría, Los Azules and Pachón), it becomes the Vaca Muerta of copper. Today San Juan’s exports are more or less than 1,200 million dollars. For the first 15 years we alone are going to export US$ 1.1 billion per year. Imagine if we are three”Vitaller said.
“The demand for copper is gigantic,” he added, saying that currently the world produces 25 million tons of copper per year and it is estimated that by 2035 50 million will be needed. “The only way to cover that deficit is by entering new projects.”
Vitaller said that Josemaría plans to produce some 150,000 tons of copper a year and that the construction stage will require between 6,000 and 8,000 workers.
The company is currently negotiating a series of agreements at the provincial and national level, and is working on the engineering review to optimize the project, to then advance to the financing stage and begin construction, with the aim of entering production in 2026. /2027, concluded.
Source: Reuters
Source: Gestion
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