Canadian miner Josemaria Resources plans to invest $3.1bn to develop a copper project in San Juan, Argentina, near the border with Chile.
The wholly-owned Josemaria project is slated to produce 136,000mt of copper per year and along with 231,000oz of gold and 1.16mn oz of silver annualy, during its 19-year life, according to a feasibility study released by the miner on Oct 19. The operation will export minerals to Asia and Europe, utilizing truck and rail transport from the site to the port in Rosario, Argentina.
Construction is expected to start with basic engineering in the first quarter of 2021 while commercial production could be achieved in 2026, the miner said. Argentina’s mining industry is planning to invest between $25-30bn to develop seven copper projects across the country to bolster its mining exports by 2026. Copper production from these projects is estimated to tally at 50mn mt per year.