Lundin's Josemaría on track to boost Argentine copper output

Engineering for the Josemaría copper-gold-silver project in Argentina’s San Juan province was 33% complete by the end of Q3, according to 100%-owner Toronto-based Lundin Mining. 

Works for this quarter include the construction of internal roads and camps, improvement of access roads and geotechnical work. Total spending of US$300mn remains on track for 2022, the company said in its Q3 results presentation. 

Josemaría, which is approximately 9km from the border with Chile, will be developed as an open pit mine and is expected to produce 136,000t/y of copper, 231,000oz/y of gold and 1.16Moz/y of silver. 

“Engineering work and full review of the capital costs and project schedule are progressing well, with the aim of delivering an updated technical report to the market in the second half of next year,” said CEO Peter Rockandel.

The company estimates the mine will extract more than 1Bt of ore grading approximately 0.30% copper and 0.22g/t gold over a mine life of 19 years.

The next stages include trade agreements and obtaining additional sector permits.

Investment is estimated at more than US$4bn, Lundin’s communications manager Carolina Laumann told a local TV show.

The project would be the first major copper mine to start up in Argentina in the last 25 years.