Copper, abundant in Chile, is one of the minerals that, in addition to lithium, is also arousing interest in Argentina. It is the case of The Chilean Luksic group, owner among other things of Antofagasta Minerals, who have expressed interest in investing in the San Juan Pachón project.
This copper and molybdenum deposit is located in the municipality of Calingasta and is one of the most important in the world. It currently is in the hands of the Swiss mining company Glencore.
“The possibility of finding an attractive target in Argentina is something we will observe and Pachón is included,” Ivan Arriagada, executive chairman of Antofagasta Minerals, said in an interview with Chilean media Diario Financiero.
Although the entrepreneur was in favor of the economic measures adopted by Javier Milei’s government, he cautiously referred to the potential incursion of the mining company into the local market: “Argentina is undoubtedly, in the long term, an interesting jurisdiction. . I hope the changes occurred provide greater certainty and stability which in fact allow the development of the mining sector. “We will be attentive to these opportunities” She said.
It happens that the company he manages has among its plans that of positioning itself in the ranking of The 10 largest copper producers in the world and with this aim it seeks to increase investments in Chile and also in the rest of Latin America.
At the end of last year, in fact, the mining company entered Peru for the first time by acquiring 19% of the Buenaventura project, the largest Peruvian mining company in terms of market capitalization and rights to deposits in that country.
Regarding future plans in Argentina, the Antofagasta Minerals executive stated that “the copper business is global and although we operate mainly in Chile, We aspire to be able to develop and continue to grow our business in the Americas, which we have defined as the area where we see the greatest attractiveness in making investments,” said Arriagada.
Regarding the mining company’s activity in the trans-Andean country, the manager underlined that the company plans to invest 7.5 billion dollars in Chile alone in the next three years, with projects such as Nuevo Centinela and Los Pelambres Futuro, which will increase the The company’s production went from 700 thousand to 900 thousand tons.
The company is also behind the life extension of Los Pelambres, which requires a permit estimated for 2024, with an additional investment of $1 billion.
“The plan is to obtain such authorization during 2024. We hope that the authorization process will last two years and the investment will eventually be made. Effort is still needed to obtain this permit to extend the useful life (beyond 2050),” Arriagada said.
Furthermore, Antofagasta has two exploration projects in Chile to be developed after 2030: Cachorro, located in the coastal area of the Atacama Desert, and Encierro, in the Andes mountain range in the Atacama region and which is part of a joint exploration contract -adventure with the Canadian Barrick Gold.
When it comes to copper-producing countries in the region, Chile tops the list with 5.2 million tons per year. Peru follows with 2.2 million. Behind is Brazil, with 324,000 tons; and, on a smaller scale, Colombia and Bolivia.
In Argentina, the main copper asset was Bajo la Alumbrera, which stopped producing in 2018. There are currently six projects, with likely construction dates, in four provinces capable of supplying the metal for the next 50 years. I am Josemaria, in San Juan; St. Georgein Mendoza; Taca Taca in Salta; The Blues and the Pachón In San Juan and MARA Projectin Catamarca.
Source: Clarin
