Lundin ups investment in Argentine Josemaría project

Canadian mining group Lundin announced that it will invest US$4.2bn in the Josemaría copper-gold project in San Juan province, Argentina, targeting first production for 2026. 

During a meeting with Argentine President Alberto Fernández, CEO Adam Lundin said that construction works on the mine are expected to start next year and will last until 2025. Over 5,000 jobs are set to be created during the construction and operation stages, according to a release from the Casa Rosada presidential palace. 

Last September, the miner said in a presentation that it was "finalizing commercial and fiscal terms with federal and provincial authorities."

The original capex for Josemaría was US$3.9bn, but during the meeting, the executives stated that the company will spend an initial US$3.1bn, US$900mn in the subsequent years and US$200mn for closure. 

Josemaría is currently awaiting approval of its environmental impact assessment, which was submitted earlier this year. 

The project’s annual production has been set at 131,000t of copper and 224,000oz of gold over the 19-year mine life. 

The meeting at the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires was also attended by the minister of economy, Martín Guzmán, and minster of productive development, Matías Kulfas, as well as mining secretary Alberto Hensel and the governor of San Juan province, Sergio Uñac. 

Photo credit: Josemaria Resources