A growing force in copper supply, Argentina is unlocking its mining potential

Experts reckon Argentina’s copper production will rival that of Peru in the coming years thanks to a handful of advanced mining projects in the country
This all thanks to new president Javier Milei and his pro-foreign investment reforms, which have made it more feasible for mining developments to get up and running
McEwen Mining boss believes the copper opportunity is a huge economic driver for the South American nation

Argentina’s mining industry has caught a second wind and experts are tipping the South American nation could alleviate expected supply issues of the red metal, rivalling neighbour Peru, the world’s second-largest copper producer. (Chile leads the global pack.)

All it needs to achieve this dream is for eight of the two dozen anticipated copper projects to come on stream by 2030, putting the country in good position to meet 793,000t of production.

That’s the view put forth by Goldcorp founder and McEwen Mining boss Rob McEwen, the 48% holder of Argentina’s Los Azules copper deposit during a recent Fastmarkets webinar.

Los Azules is one of the world’s top 10 undeveloped copper porphyry projects with 10.9b copper pounds grading 0.40% in the indicated category as well as 26.7b copper pounds grading 0.31% in the inferred category.

It sits within Argentina’s San Juan province, home to five of the country’s eight main copper assets including Lundin Mining’s Josemaria (131,000t), Filo Mining Corp’s Filo del Sol, Glencore’s El Pachon (280,000t) and Aldebaran’s Altar project (127,000t).

A bankable feasibility study for Los Azules is scheduled for the first half of 2025 but based on the preliminary economic assessment released last year, development will kick off in 2026 with first production slated for 2029, just when demand for the wiring metal is expected to accelerate in the shift away from fossil fuels.

That makes it essential in helping turn Argentina into a major copper supplier with estimates suggesting production could jump from 4000t today to more than 1Mtpa by 2035, accounting for over 10% of the world’s annual copper production.

“It’s a huge economic driver for Argentina,” McEwen said.

“I always felt Argentina had enormous natural resources and that one day the government would want to encourage foreign investment in a large way to raise the standard of living

“I’m happy to see what’s occurring, it’s a very positive environment right now and I’m very encouraged by the laws that have been passed that will make it much more attractive, particularly the stability agreement for 30 years.”

Javier Milei laying the groundwork

In June, the lower house of Congress in Argentina passed a controversial law granting special legislative powers for the federal government, which intend to deregulate sectors of the economy, privatise some companies and ease capital in and out flows.

One key section of it, the Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI), allows a few industries – including oil and gas, energy and mining – to be granted tax benefits and more lax capital control rules than the rest of the Argentine economy over the next 30 years.

Argentina’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Marianna Plaza, told webinar listeners the recent economic reforms put in place by new president Javier Milei were aimed at stabilising the economy, controlling inflation and attracting foreign investment.

She said mining development projects around 200Mt would be considered possible, feasible and secure under the RIGI scheme.

Argentine businessman and Integra Capital founder Jose Luis Manzano echoed a similar sentiment, telling listeners Milei’s policies have not only worked to improve investment conditions in the country but have made it more feasible for companies to build new copper projects.

Until a year ago, he said there were only two pioneers in the copper space in Argentina – McEwen Mining’s Rob McEwen and Swedish-Canadian founder and former chairman of Lundin Mining, Lukas Lundin, who passed away in 2022.

“They had a lot of headwinds, they knew it was a lot of cover, they had a lot of difficulties and difficulty with financing, but the geology kept these two pioneers attached to the mountain in San Juan,” he said.

“Milei has released the positive energy and the new temptation of the government.

“We believe we are opening a new chapter in terms of the size of investment for Argentina… we are living in exciting times and it is without a doubt, easier now [to get mining development off the ground].”

Copper’s big sky opportunity

McEwen said the government has “rolled out the welcome mat” to foreign investment in the country and believes the copper opportunity at Los Azules could become something much bigger than his success with Gold Corp, which was worth over $8b before it merged with Newmont Mining in 2019.

“Whenever I look at deposits that aren’t gold I translate them into a gold equivalent – based on current resources, Loz Azules is equivalent to more than 60 million ounces of gold and will have a mine life in excess of 27 years, that’s only mining 40% of the deposit,” he said.

“That’s a very large gold deposit and it would rank as one the biggest gold mines in the world.”

Who’s exploring for copper in Argentina?

Belararox’s (ASX:BRX) Toro-Malambo-Tambo (TMT) asset is strategically located smack bang in the middle of several large operating mines and neighbours Filo del Sol, the project being acquired by BHP and Lundin for US$4b.

TMT is notched to the same belt as Filo del Sol, as well as the Los Helados and Potro Cliffs projects being developed by TSE-listed NGEx Minerals.

BRX has been systematically exploring its 32,000 hectare (320km2) landholding and working up its 12 porphyry targets with plans to start putting them to test with the drill bit in the upcoming field season in September.

About 120km northwest of Argentina’s San Juan province is early-stage copper hunter Challenger Gold (ASX:CEL), owners of the Hualilan gold project.

Exploration in April successfully defined a 5km copper target to the southeast of the asset as well as coincident anomalies for other pathfinder elements associated with copper mineralisation, including a coincident iodine anomaly – a well-known pathfinder for several large copper systems in arid climates.

The regional program continues to target Hualilan repeats and skarn-related mineralisation along the 30 kilometres of prospective strike; an ionic leach program is being extended to cover an additional 150km2 surrounding the project site.

Lithium projects in Argentina

It seems the new measures might already be working with the country recording its first week without inflation in 30 years just six months after Milei’s inauguration. But the regulations that are being inhaled by the government aren’t only benefiting the copper miners. A lithium project currently moving forward with development in the country will also get the same full benefits that the copper projects can apply for.

Plaza told webinar listeners there’s about 180 advanced mining projects in Argentina and 30% of those are focused on lithium.

The Argentine lithium sector alone exceeds $8b in capital expenditure, she said, with resources at around 70m tonnes.

Fastmarkets analyst Callum Perry estimates that Argentina will produce around 175,000t of lithium in 2026 compared to Chile’s production of around 307,000t.

“Argentina will still be short of Chile’s production but is leading the way in terms of the rate of growth in South America,” he said.

Pursuit Minerals’ (ASX:PUR) Rio Grande Sur flagship project in Argentina’s Salta province on the Rio Grande Salar boasts a resource of 250,000t of lithium carbonate equivalent.

The company is targeting a material resource upgrade in the current half year, with latest drilling results indicating it is on to higher lithium concentrations and at greater depths compared with the data that went into the current resource estimate.

While the project is not currently at ‘Rigi’ scale there are a bunch of control reforms and the like under Milei’s overhaul that are useful to Pursuit and other juniors in Argentina.

PUR has been able to maintain momentum at Rio Grande Sur despite the current lithium market downturn thanks to cash at hand on June 30 of $2m and a subsequent $2.42m placement.

Further down the track, PUR hopes to feed the resource into a project feasibility study looking at a commercial development, with a likely release date inside of nine months.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Belararox, Challenger Gold and Pursuit Minerals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.