A RIGI project will issue shares for US$ 300 million to confirm its investment in San Juan

As he knew Clarion, McEwen Copper -Canadian billionaire Rob McEwen’s company- is planning to launch a Initial Public Offering (IPOfor its acronym in English) on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canada, or on any of the United States stock exchangeswhich will allow you to fund your Los Azules project with the share issue of the company.

“In Toronto we would be a big fish in a small fish tank; in the United States, a small fish in a big fish tank. We are evaluating its implications,” company sources commented.

Los Azules is one of the mining projects that already has guaranteed access to RIGI for US$ 2.7 billionbut financing is lacking. This year they will allocate investments of US$200 million, of which they still need to obtain almost 70%.

For this, its executives explore agreements with banks development organizations such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC, of ​​the World Bank) and the search for a new partner.

McEwen Copper counts the automotive company among its share structure Stellar and Nuton, a firm of the giant Rio Tintowhich could accelerate its landing in copper in Argentina.

Rio Tinto is strong in lithium and wants to expand its business to copper, an essential mineral in the energy transition (electric networks and cars), urban infrastructure, the military industry and robotics. Recently its merger with Glencorethe world’s main raw materials trader, which would have given it access to copper, in projects such as Pachón, Agua Rica and Bajo de la Alumbrera, in San Juan and Catamarca.

Los Azules is one of the 10 copper projects with the most resources in the world and is located in the province of San Juan, 80 kilometers in a straight line from the town of Calingasta and 6 kilometers from the border with Chile, at 3,500 meters above sea level in the Andes mountain range.

According to the Preliminary Economic Assessment (EAP) completed in 2023, the useful life of the mine is expected to be 27 years.

The country imports about 20,000 tons per year of copper cathodes, and the project could start producing about 192,000 tons per year from 2030, then drop to about 175,000 tons after a few years and stabilize at 150,000 later. That will generate exports for about US$ 1.8 billion a yeardepending on the price.

Typically, the rest of the projects extract the copper concentrate and export it to China, India or Europe for processing. Then, the electronics and automotive industries – among many others – import refined copper. With Los Azules, Argentina would skip that stage, since will process the metal locally.

The attack by Israel and the United States on Iran that sparked war in the Middle East caused metal prices to fall this month. Copper, which exceeded US$13,500 per ton, has now fallen to US$12,000. However, Argentina’s main projects are very profitable even with prices below US$9,500.