A new resource evaluation confirmed the existence of one of the largest world deposits of copper, gold and silver on the border between Argentina and Chile, mainly in the province of San Juan. These are the integrated projects Filo del Sol and Josemaría, developed by the Vicuña mining company, a strategic association between the Canadian Lundin Mining and the Australian BHP.
According to Vicuña, the estimate consolidates the position of the Vicuña project “as one of the greatest resources of copper, gold and silver worldwide.” The joint initiative between Lundin Mining and BHP, the largest mining company in the world, has a 50% participation and seeks to take advantage of synergies between deposits to optimize infrastructure and allow staggered expansions.
The “Vicuña District”, where these projects are located, is among the top ten districts in copper mineral resources in the world. The estimated numbers of mineral resources are significant:
- Copper: 12.8 million measures and 25.1 million tons inferred. Another estimate speaks of 13 million measures and indicated tons (M&I) and 25 million tons inferred.
- Gold: 32.2 million measures and 48.7 million inferred ounces. Another estimate reports 32 million ounces measures that increase to 49 million ounces with inferred resources.
- Silver: 659 million measures and 808 million inferred ounces.
Most of these resources are concentrated in the Filo del Sol deposit. Jack Lundin, president and executive director of Lundin Mining, stressed that Filo del Sol has been “one of the most significant discoveries of the last 30 years.” He added that it is “one of the open -pit copper projects with greater law not yet developed in the world, in addition to being one of the greatest global gold and silver resources.” Lundin said that “Filo del Sol and the Vicuña district are ready to become a world class site that will support a world -renowned mining complex.”
The deposit of Josemaría, which complements the project, also stands out for a high law core close to the surface, with an estimate of 978,000 tons of copper, 2.4 million ounces of gold and 11 million ounces of silver.
Currently, Filo del Sol is in the exploration stage, while Josemaría is in the pre-construct phase. The next key step will be the elaboration of an integrated technical report that combines both deposits in a single project, expected for the first quarter of 2026.
The announcement of this discovery, which positions Vicuña as a unique asset with expansion potential, comes after in August 2024, Lundin and BHP formed the “Vicuña Project” in an operation of US $ 3,000 million. This agreement marked the entrance of BHP, the largest mining company in the world, to Argentina in the copper sector. The BHP CEO, Mike Henry, had then pointed out the importance of expanding their copper operations and the shortage of projects available for this magnitude.
The growth potential is clear; The perforations in the edge of the Sun have reached in depth, and the flamenco zone, nearby, has intercepted mineralization beyond the current limits.
The Secretary of Finance and Coordinator of the Production Area, Pablo Quirno, highlighted the announcement sharing Lundin’s statement and stating: “Argentina will be thriving.”
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