Lundin Mining, the Canadian Minera who in August last year formed with BHP the “Vicuña Project” in an operation of USD 3,000 million, announced a first initial estimate of resources in the Filo del Sol deposit on Sunday.
Together with the updates of the Filo del Sol and Josemaría deposits, the company said from Vancouver, Canada, the estimate positions the Vicuña project “as one of the greatest resources of copper, gold and silver worldwide.”
The estimate, Lundin said, “represents a significant milestone in the development of a world -class mining district in the region.
The Vicuña project is a joint initiative between Lundin Mining y BHPthe most large mining company of the world, with a 50 % participation each. The strategic agreement, says the statement, “seeks to take advantage of the synergies between the Filo del Sol and Josemaría deposits, which are in proximity, to optimize the shared infrastructure and allow staggered expansions.
According to the estimate, Vicuña is among the ten main resources of the world, with a content of 13 million tons (MT) of copper measured and indicated (M&I) and 25 Mt inferred.
In addition, a content of 32 million ounces (Moz) of measured gold is estimated, which increase to 49 million ounces when the “inferred” resources are added. In addition, the estimate precise 659 million ounces of “measured” silver, which together with the “inferred”, reach 659 million ounces.
“The deposit of Filo del Sol It is presented as a generational discovery, being the largest copper exploration in areas not developed in the last 30 years, ”said the Canadian company, which tomorrow will give a conference to investors and the international press to provide more details about the estimate.
In addition, Lundin highlighted, the Deposit of Josemaría, which completes the Vicuña project, “also stands out for its high law, close to the surface”, estimating the existence of 978,000 tons of copper, 2.4 million ounces of gold and 11 million ounces of silver.
Jack Lundinpresident and executive director of Lundin Mining, highlighted the relevance of this discovery and its impact on the global mining industry. According to his statements, Filo del Sol represents one of the open -pit copper projects with greater law not yet developed in the world, in addition to being one of the greatest gold and silver resources globally. Lundin stressed that the size and scale of the project, together with its high law core, position Vicuña as a unique asset with a significant potential of expansion.
“The next step in the development of the project will be the elaboration of an integrated technical report that combines the deposits of the Filo del Sol and Josemaría in a single project. This report, which is expected to be ready for the first quarter of 2026, will be key to advance in the planning and execution of the mining complex. Lundin mining and its partner BHP seeks to generate long -term value for its shareholders through the development of this world -class mining district,” says another of the statement.
The announcement was highlighted by the Secretary of Finance and Coordinator of the Production Area, Pablo Quirnoan official of the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo. In a post in the X network, Quirno attached a link to Lundin’s statement, and wrote: “Argentina will be thriving.”
In August 2024, the announcement of the agreement between Lundin and BHP called worldwide attention, as it meant the entry of the largest world mining to Argentina, and in the copper sector, one of the largest minerals of higher scale of investment and operations.
In 2023 BHP had bought at USD 6,900 million Oz Minerals, another Australian producer and had offered USD 49,000 million to absorb Anglo American, who rejected the offer.
Finally, he entered Argentina by Lundin’s hand, which years ago had been exploring and had rights to the so -called “Vicuña District”, luck of “Cow Muerta del Cobre” in the province of San Juan.
Mike HenryCEO of BHP, then said, when announcing the agreement: “The price we are willing to pay for mines that will not be operational for some years and will require significant investments to reach production shows the importance we assign to expand our copper operations and also testify to also the shortage of projects available to this magnitude.”
According to Lundin Mining, “the project has a clear expansion potential. The perforations carried out in the edge of the Sun have reached in depth mineralization, while in the flamenco area, located about 2 kilometers to the south, mineralization has been intercepted beyond the current limits of the deposit. This growth potential adds to a significant increase in the mineral resources attributable to Lundin Mining, with an increase of 29 % in the resources of 29 % in the resources of 29 % measured copper and a 650 % increase in inferred copper resources. ”
