VICUÑA Corp., a joint venture between Australia’s BHP and Canada’s Lundin Mining, has announced a six-year extension to the operational lifespan of its Josemaria copper, gold and silver project in Argentina, said Reuters on Friday.
The company said the mine’s useful life has been extended to 25 years from the previous estimate of 19 years, citing increased levels of exploitable resources at the site.
Vicuña also revealed plans for an ore processing capacity of 175,000 tons per day at the facility, situated in Argentina’s north-western San Juan province near the Chilean border.
The announcement follows new studies presented to provincial authorities this week as part of a second update to the environmental impact report, which also covered water management strategies, said the newswire.
The Josemaria operation remains in pre-construction phase, with production expected to commence in 2030 following submission of a technical report in the first half of 2026. This report will establish precise timelines and forecasts for the project.
The updated projections could strengthen Vicuña’s application to join Argentina’s Large Investment Incentives Regime (RIGI), a programme championed by libertarian President Javier Milei’s administration to attract foreign investment.
Argentina’s government is actively promoting mining development in provinces along the Chilean border, seeking to boost foreign currency inflows and support economic recovery in areas that have seen limited development.
Earlier this year, assessments of the Josemaria and Vicuña’s Filo del Sol deposits indicated reserves of 13 million tons of measured copper and 25 million tons of inferred copper.
Argentina has not produced copper since 2018, but a substantial pipeline of planned projects could potentially elevate the country into the world’s top 10 copper producers.
