Los Azules, the copper project located in Calingasta department, San Juan province, received a visit from national and international authorities during a key event aimed at further strengthening both the project's positioning and that of Argentine mining on the global stage.
By Panorama Minero
On Monday, April 14, Dieter Lamlé, the German Ambassador to Argentina; Andreas Vollmer, Honorary Consul of Germany in Mendoza; Luis Lucero, Argentina’s National Secretary of Mining; and Juan Pablo Perea, Minister of Mining of San Juan, toured the facilities of the project, learned about its technical progress, and gained insight into its sustainable approach, community engagement, and the economic potential of Los Azules—one of the most promising copper deposits in Latin America.
“We are very pleased to have welcomed international, national, and provincial authorities to Los Azules. This visit is highly significant for us, as we have been making great efforts to strengthen our ties with the European Union. I recently returned from a tour of Europe, where we held meetings with potential investors. We want the world to discover the tremendous potential of this project and to choose to invest in San Juan and in Argentina,” said Michael Meding, General Manager of Los Azules.
First-Person Testimonials
Dieter Lamlé, German Ambassador to Argentina
• “Los Azules is one of the most important projects Argentina has, and the project needs investors.”
• “I traveled to the project site to see what’s happening and to speak with potential investors in Germany.”
• “With Governor Marcelo Orrego, we discussed not only mining but also green hydrogen.”
Juan Pablo Perea, Minister of Mining of San Juan
• “Lifting the currency controls is no small matter. Of course, other signals are still expected, but I believe we are on the right path.”
• “In the province of San Juan, we are moving forward — we're active and progressing along a positive path in terms of what we can offer as a province.”
• “Gualcamayo and Los Azules have applied to the RIGI program, and recently it was reported that Barrick may also be doing so for one of its phases. Project processes in the province are being evaluated, with some responding to specific requests regarding their applications.”
• “Vicuña awarded the contract for the construction of road sections E and F to a joint venture between a San Juan company and a company from San Luis. That’s fantastic: everything has a beginning, and this is a major first step toward building a mine.”
• “The company’s construction work will be carried out in sequence with the goal of maintaining steady progress. While these sections are underway, maintenance work is already being carried out on sections A through D — the step prior to opening the construction tender.”
Michael Meding, General Manager at Los Azules project
• “Last week I was at the BAUMA fair in Munich, the largest mining and construction trade show in the world, to talk with potential heavy equipment suppliers that aren’t manufactured in Argentina, and to discuss potential investments.”
• “In Helsinki, we spoke with potential suppliers such as Metso, among others, as well as with Norway’s Export Credit Agency to explore financing options for the project.”
• “We’re very excited and very optimistic because we’ve been able to move the project forward at a consistent pace.”
• “Argentina has the natural resources the European Union needs, and Europe has the funding and know-how necessary to support Argentina’s next stage of development.”
• “We are finalizing the Feasibility Study, aiming for completion between the first half’s end and the beginning of the second half of 2025. After that, we hope to begin the engineering phase, and by the end of the year, we expect to start some pre-construction work, such as setting up the camp.”
• “The base Feasibility Study does not include the Nuton process (a Rio Tinto technology), but it is incorporated in the sections that explore potential enhancements to the base case. There will be a base case without Nuton and an optional future case with Nuton, at a Scoping Study / PEA level.”
• “We submitted our application to the RIGI program on February 12. There were several questions which we’ve already answered. We presented the project in two stages: one for US$277 million to get the project ready for construction, and then US$2.5 billion in CAPEX for the actual construction phase.”
