Long-Term Strategic Export Projects
Argentine President Javier Milei and Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno met at the Casa Rosada with shareholders of mining company Vicuña Corp., the joint venture between Australia’s BHP and Canada’s Lundin Mining.
Those attending the meeting included Jack Lundin, CEO of Lundin Mining and a member of Vicuña’s board; Carlos Ramírez, a BHP vice president and chairman of Vicuña’s board; Ron Hochstein, CEO of Vicuña Corp.; and José Luis Morea, Vicuña Corp.’s country director for Argentina.
Last month, Vicuña submitted the first mining application under Argentina’s Incentive Regime for Large Investments, known by its Spanish acronym RIGI, in the category of Long-Term Strategic Export Projects. The category offers extended benefits, including up to 40 years of fiscal, foreign-exchange and customs stability, exemptions from export duties and accelerated profit repatriation. The regime, promoted by the Milei administration, is seen as key to competing with other mining jurisdictions such as Chile and Peru by attracting large-scale, long-life investments. Vicuña’s application was hailed as a milestone signaling confidence in Argentina’s economic reforms.
Ramírez said the meeting took place in the context of the company’s RIGI application and provided an opportunity to share Vicuña’s potential to become one of the world’s largest copper, gold and silver mines. He also highlighted BHP’s experience developing mining districts in Chile and Australia, underscoring how mining has positively contributed to regional development where it operates.
Company executives also shared updates on project progress, its phased development plan and the importance of continuing with a reform agenda that allows large-scale investments to move forward with predictability and clear rules. They emphasized the role of instruments such as RIGI in creating stable conditions for long-term projects.
In the coming months, Vicuña Corp. will continue advancing technical and engineering studies for the integrated project, which are expected to be released during the first quarter of this year. The studies will outline the combined operating model and synergies between deposits. Key regulatory approvals and the start of production are targeted for around 2030, with phased development aimed at minimizing risk, capturing resource upside and ensuring an efficient transition from exploration to full-scale operations.
A world-class Andean mining cluster
Vicuña’s integrated design envisions processing capacity of 175,000 metric tons of ore per day and an extended mine life of 25 years, up from an initial 19 years due to higher-than-expected resources. The plan includes innovations in water management, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, creating an integrated Andean cluster that maximizes recovery of copper, gold and silver through a conventional open-pit operation.
Established in January 2025, Vicuña Corp. is a joint venture between BHP and Lundin Mining following their joint acquisition of Filo Corp. and the integration of the Josemaría deposit, previously owned entirely by Lundin. The partnership combines BHP’s global operational and financial scale with Lundin’s expertise in exploration and complex project development, forming an independent company led by an experienced management team. Hochstein was appointed CEO in November 2025 and has more than 30 years of industry experience, including as former CEO of Lundin Gold.
The goal is to maximize synergies to transform the Vicuña district into a multigenerational mining complex with the potential to generate long-term, transformative value. Focused on copper, gold and silver, the project hosts world-class resources confirmed in May 2025, including more than 13 million metric tons of measured and indicated copper, plus an additional 25 million tons inferred, along with 32 million ounces of gold and 659 million ounces of silver.
Filo del Sol stands out for its high-grade sulfide core, estimated at 606 million tons grading 1.14% copper equivalent, while Josemaría offers near-surface, high-grade mineralization totaling 196 million tons at 0.73% copper equivalent. These figures place the project among the world’s 10 largest undeveloped copper resources and make it the largest greenfield copper discovery in three decades, with further expansion potential in areas such as Flamenco.
The project is located in Argentina’s San Juan province at elevations above 4,230 meters, about 10 kilometers, or 6 miles, from the Chilean border. The close distance between Josemaría and Filo del Sol, roughly 10 to 11 kilometers apart, allows for shared infrastructure, optimizing costs and operational efficiency in a challenging but highly mineralized Andean setting.