BRIDGING THE DEMAND GAP San Juan is home to five of Argentina's eight main copper projects that have a total capex of $22 billion, a recent government report shows. Three more are in Mendoza, Catamarca and Salta, all near the north-west Andean border with Chile. Josemaria, Astudillo told Reuters, had its environmental impact statement approved; Los Azules had presented its impact report, and El Pachón, a long-stalled mine, was moving towards production with regional political support for the project. "(There's) incredible potential that could make the country a key player in bridging the gap between current production and future copper demand in the clean energy transition," said Carolina Laumann, Josemaria's communications manager. The mine aims to finish an engineering review, key permits and infrastructure deals this year, she said, and move to a financing stage. Once construction starts it could be 4-5 years to production, she said. The target had been to produce in 2026.
Argentina has an estimated 65 million tonnes of copper reserves, according to a 2022 government report, some 3% of the global total. That compares with world No. 2 producer Peru's 9% share and distant leader Chile with almost a third.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE DEMAND To be sure, Argentina is battling an economic crisis with scarce foreign currency reserves, inflation over 100% and tight capital controls which make business complex. But the need for growth has added impetus to sectors such as mining and energy.
The country is already one of the world's top lithium producers, and officials see mining as a strong potential employer and future driver of exports, which could help the indebted country bring in much-needed hard currency. Víctor Delbuono, a mining economist at the Fundar Foundation that worked with the government on its latest mining report, said Argentina had built up a strong copper project pipeline and done well attracting investment in recent years. He added though that the country still needed to improve its complex foreign exchange market and fine tune its tax system for the sector to help ensure strong mining development up to 2030. Franco Mignacco, president of the Argentine Chamber of Mining Entrepreneurs (CAEM), said the global electric vehicle boom would be a key driver. Carmaker Stellantis made a $155 million investment earlier this year in Los Azules. "The projects we have are of global importance and relevance because it's estimated that demand for copper between now and 2050 could be multiplied," he said. Copper demand is forecast to double to 50 million tonnes by 2050 from 2020 levels. "The projects we have and many more will be needed." <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Argentina: Copper projects Argentina: Copper projects (Interactive graphic) Argentina: Red metal rising? Argentina: Red metal rising? (Interactive graphic) Argentina: top 10 for copper? Argentina: top 10 for copper? (Interactive graphic) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Lucila Sigal; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Louise Heavens)
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