The mining fund promoted by Mendoza to finance exploration has entered a key phase: the technical selection of projects that will be eligible to access the financial vehicle. Sebastián Piña, CEO of Impulsa Mendoza, confirmed that the province is advancing in the selection of the geological team that will be responsible for evaluating mining properties within the Malargüe Western Mining District.
By Panorama Minero
“We are in the final stage of defining who the technical specialist will be that will help us,” Piña stated.
According to his explanation, Impulsa Mendoza has already launched a public tender to hire geological services to analyze projects that could enter the financial structure created under the regulations of Argentina’s National Securities Commission (CNV).
“To help us select the best projects,” he said.
The process is specifically aimed at projects located in Malargüe that already have an approved Environmental Impact Declaration. From that universe of projects, the province will determine which ones meet the geological and technical conditions required to become eligible assets within the fund.
“All those that have their mining project specifically in Malargüe and already have an approved Environmental Impact Declaration,” Piña explained when describing the scope of the evaluation.
The objective is to establish a technical screening process before projects are incorporated into the financial vehicle.
“So that they can be eligible and, once they pass this geological technical screening, we can make them available to the fund,” he added.
How the Exploration Fund Will Operate
The initiative is part of “Impulsando Exploraciones” (Driving Exploration), the Closed-End Investment Fund introduced by Mendoza several months ago to channel private capital toward early-stage mining exploration.
The vehicle was structured under CNV supervision, with subscriptions denominated in U.S. dollars and an estimated size ranging from US$2 million to US$100 million.
The fund is primarily focused on copper exploration projects in southern Mendoza and seeks to introduce a formal financial structure for a stage that has historically depended on direct private capital or junior mining companies with access to international capital markets.
Under the model, investors subscribe fund units through dollar-denominated contributions and receive proportional participation in the managed assets. That capital is then allocated to selected projects through various financial instruments.
The structure provides that the fund manager will be responsible for the comprehensive administration of the vehicle and the execution of investment decisions, while the custodian entity will oversee asset custody and regulatory compliance.
At the same time, Impulsa Mendoza acts as the fund’s technical and strategic advisor, with responsibilities related to identifying and evaluating eligible mining properties within the province.
The strategy contemplates diversification by both the number of properties and geographic areas within the southern Mendoza mining district, seeking to distribute the exploration risk inherent to early-stage projects.
The fund may invest through different mechanisms, including the purchase of shares in project-holding companies, participation in special-purpose vehicles, corporate bonds, or financing through loan agreements. The objective is to obtain equity positions in structures linked to exploration development.
The Geological Screening Process
The phase now being developed by Impulsa Mendoza is considered central to the structure of the fund, as it will determine which projects will ultimately be available to receive financing.
The province aims to establish a unified technical criterion to evaluate geological characteristics, exploration potential, project status, available information, and the legal structure of each mining property.
This analysis will be conducted on projects that already have approved DIAs within the Malargüe Western Mining District, one of the most important exploration initiatives promoted by Mendoza in recent years.
Alongside the technical work, Impulsa Mendoza continues advancing with the National Securities Commission on the final prospectus for the financial vehicle and the regulatory adjustments required for its implementation.
