A court in Argentina’s San Juan province on Tuesday allowed the Vicuna copper project, operated by Australia’s BHP and Canada’s Lundin Mining, to continue operating after a judge in neighboring La Rioja ordered a temporary suspension.
Vicuna is among the world’s largest undeveloped copper, gold and silver projects and is central to the country’s ambitions to become a major copper producer.
The ruling in San Juan came days after a judge in La Rioja ordered a 30-day suspension of the project and barred the movement of machinery and vehicles along a road in her province, saying the company had not submitted a comprehensive environmental assessment with La Rioja’s participation.
Although Vicuna is located in San Juan, the company uses an access route that crosses La Rioja.
“In proceedings initiated by Vicuna before the provincial courts of San Juan, a precautionary measure requested by the company was granted, guaranteeing continuity of operations at the Vicuna mining project,” the mine said in a statement on Tuesday.
Vicuna said the measure prevents any third party, public or private, from obstructing or suspending operations. Only San Juan provincial authorities can intervene as the province’s mining ministry authorized the project.
BHP and Lundin Mining formed a 50-50 joint venture to develop the Filo del Sol and Josemaria deposits as the single Vicuna project. The initial stage of the mine is expected to cost more than $7 billion.
Argentina has not produced copper since the Alumbrera mine closed in 2018, but it has a pipeline of projects that could elevate it into the top tier of global producers.
A Vicuna spokesperson had previously told Reuters that operations had continued without interruption because the company was using an alternative access route that did not cross through La Rioja.
(By Lucila Sigal; Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Natalia Siniawski)
