Impulsa Mendoza awarded Public Tender No. 2/2026 to Cerro Quebrado S.A., a BHP group company whose controlling company is BHP Group Limited. The purpose of the tender is the execution of an Exploration Contract with a Purchase Option for El Seguro, the copper project that the provincial company developed on the Fausto, Gitana and El Yeso mining properties in Malargüe. With the award, BHP adds a second route of entry into the Malargüe Western Mining District. The first was formalized on August 5, when BHP Metals Exploration signed an alliance with Kobrea Exploration covering the seven projects controlled by the Canadian company in the district.
By Panorama Minero
Cerro Quebrado’s proposal was the only one submitted. The Evaluation Committee verified that it met all the requirements of the tender specifications and awarded it the highest rating in the technical and economic aspects. As there was only one bid, the committee also analyzed its economic suitability by comparing it with market precedents and comparable transactions, and concluded that it was advantageous for the company. Based on that Pre-Award Opinion, Impulsa’s Board of Directors unanimously approved the award.
The tender specifications allowed the technical, economic and sustainability track record of the BHP group and the companies that form part of it to be considered, and the bid was evaluated according to that criterion.
A Tender Originating from a Private Initiative
The process began with a Private Initiative submitted to Impulsa to explore El Seguro with a purchase option. The Board of Directors declared it to be of interest and put it out to public tender to allow other interested parties to participate. The tender was published on July 23 in Mendoza’s Official Gazette and on the company’s website.
The tender specifications and conditions had a value of US$5,000 and could be requested until August 5. To access them, interested parties had to pay the fee, sign a confidentiality agreement and provide proof of legal standing. The deadline for receiving bids was 1:00 p.m. on August 18, 2026.
The Asset Received by the Successful Bidder
El Seguro is located in the Malargüe Andes, approximately 30 km northwest of Las Loicas, at the intersection of the Jurassic Magmatic Arc and the Miocene-Pliocene Magmatic Arc. Impulsa acquired it from Mendoza-based company Agaucu and turned it into the anchor project of MDMO I: it was the first to be activated in the field and is currently the second most advanced project in the district, behind Kobrea’s El Perdido, the only one to have reached the drilling stage.
Between January and March 2026, the provincial company built a 19.6 km mining access road from the vicinity of Puesto Pachico. It also refurbished 6.25 km of existing road from Provincial Route 226 and set up a worksite covering approximately 3,500 m². The General Department of Irrigation authorized the extraction of 862.5 m³ of water from the Pachico and El Seguro streams for drilling, construction work and the camp.
Between March and April, Impulsa, together with ALH Geofísica, carried out a geological mapping, geochemical and geophysical campaign using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Induced Polarization (IP). The campaign produced 53 samples under QA/QC protocols and completed the first of three planned profiles: 1,530 metres in length, an investigation depth of approximately 630 metres and around 3,600 resistivity and chargeability readings across 72 electrodes. This package is complemented by multispectral studies, radiometric dating, integrated historical information and a geological model under development. The project also has a water baseline resulting from participatory environmental monitoring of the Pachico and El Seguro streams.
Two BHP Structures in the Same District
The award of El Seguro and the alliance with Kobrea give BHP two positions of a different nature within the Malargüe Western Mining District. Under the agreement with Kobrea, BHP Metals Exploration made an initial payment of US$3 million and will fund a project generation program with a minimum investment of US$5 million over two years, with Kobrea as operator. It may then select up to four projects and earn a 75% interest in each by funding at least US$40 million in exploration over eight years. The portfolio comprises seven projects covering more than 733 km². The most advanced is El Perdido, where six diamond drill holes totalling 2,358 metres confirmed a copper-gold-molybdenum-silver porphyry system.
At El Seguro, the structure is different: the asset is state-owned and the relationship is established through an exploration contract with a purchase option signed directly by a BHP group company.
