News & Market Analysis: Argentina Advances Major Vicuna Copper Project

Argentina has approved the Vicuna copper project - a joint venture between Australia's BHP and Canada's Lundin Mining - in what Economy Minister Luis Caputo called the largest mining project in Argentina's history.

Argentina has approved the Vicuna copper project under its Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI), Economy Minister Luis Caputo said in a June 16 post on X, citing an initial investment of $9.7 billion. Caputo described the joint venture between Australia's BHP and Canada's Lundin Mining as the largest mining project in Argentina's history and one of the world's five largest copper projects, adding that total investment could reach $18 billion based on company estimates.

Lundin Mining said the approval makes Vicuna the first copper project in Argentina to receive RIGI's more favourable Long-Term Strategic Export Projects (PEELP) designation, which provides a 40-year benefits period compared with 30 years under the standard RIGI framework, along with accelerated access to revenue repatriation and export duty exemptions. Lundin Mining President and CEO Jack Lundin called the ruling "a significant milestone" supporting progress toward a final investment decision on Stage 1 before the end of 2026.

The project combines the Josemaria and Filo del Sol copper-gold-silver deposits on the Argentina-Chile border in San Juan province, with Stage 1 capital expenditure estimated at $7.1 billion. Caputo said the project could generate more than $2.6 billion in annual exports and over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs, while Lundin Mining estimated Argentina's total tax and royalty receipts at $69 billion over the life of the mine.