The sleeping giant of copper production is waking up.
Vicuña Corp—the joint venture between BHP (BHP.AX) and Lundin Mining (LUN.TO)—is planning to double its investment in the Argentine Andes this year to $800 million (up from ~$400M in 2025). The capital will fuel the development of the Filo del Sol and Josemaría projects, located over 4,200 meters above sea level on the Chile-Argentina border.
⛏️ THE SCALE: This isn’t just another mine; it is potentially a district-defining asset.
- The Resource: The Vicuña District holds 13 million metric tons of measured copper (plus 25M inferred) and substantial gold/silver reserves.
- The Hype: Geology Manager Juan Arrieta describes it as “the greatest discovery of the last 30 years worldwide in terms of resources,” noting that Filo del Sol is 4x larger than Josemaría.
- The Total Bet: Estimates for total CAPEX range from $5 billion to as high as $15 billion.
🏛️ THE MILEI FACTOR: Argentina hasn’t produced copper since 2018, but the political winds have shifted.
- RIGI Incentives: Vicuña has applied for President Javier Milei’s “Large Investment Incentive Regime” (RIGI), which offers critical tax and legal stability for mega-projects.
- Strategic Timing: With global copper shortages looming for electrification, Argentina is positioning itself as the alternative to Chile and Peru, despite infrastructure challenges in the high Andes.
💡 ANALYST TAKEAWAY: BHP and Lundin are making a generational bet. By committing nearly $1 billion in pre-production spend this year, they are signaling that the resource quality at Vicuña is too good to ignore, regardless of Argentina’s historical volatility. If this district comes online by 2030 as planned, it could single-handedly put Argentina back on the global mining map and ease the coming copper deficit.
👇 Mining Investors: Is Argentina finally investable for long-term mega-projects, or is the political risk still too high for a $15B commitment?