(07-05-2025) Lundin Mining, a diversified base metals company with operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and the U.S., and joint venture partner with BHP Group, reported that the Filo del Sol project is the largest copper discovery in three decades, according to new drilling and analyses.
The project spans the border between Argentina and Chile, specifically in the San Juan province (Argentina) and the Atacama Region (Chile).
The untapped mine contains at least 13 million tons of the metal, as well as significant amounts of gold and silver, Lundin stated in a press release issued on Sunday. Drilling is ongoing, and the estimated size of the deposit is increasing, the company said.
Copper mining is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive, even as global demand for the metal is projected to rise due to its role in the energy transition. This outlook has spurred a wave of mergers in the industry, along with forecasts of persistent shortages and higher prices in the future.
The initial mineral resource “has begun to unlock the potential of one of the highest-grade undeveloped open-pit copper projects in the world, and one of the largest gold and silver resources globally”, said CEO Jack Lundin.
BHP acquired Filo del Sol last year in a $3 billion deal, in partnership with Lundin, to gain ownership of two copper projects—Filo del Sol and Josemaría—that straddle the Argentina-Chile border. It will take many years and billions of dollars to develop these two mines.
Source: La República, Colombia