en.Wedoany.com Reported - Vicuña has signed a commitment agreement with the provincial government of San Juan, Argentina, establishing a predictable framework for the development of the Vicuña project. This initiative aims to consolidate the obligations set forth in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) while providing greater certainty on the economic aspects related to investment.
The agreement, which still requires approval from the provincial legislature to become law, represents the first phase of a series of agreements the parties plan to reach as the project progresses.
One of the core provisions of the agreement is the stabilization of provincial royalties at 3% of revenue for the entire operating life of the project. This framework will apply to current mining rights and any future mining rights incorporated into the Vicuña project.
The parties have agreed to establish a trust fund to manage the financial contributions required by the Environmental Impact Assessment, aimed at funding previously identified infrastructure projects. As part of this framework, the company expects to prepay $250 million by the fourth quarter of 2026, with funds allocated to infrastructure projects within the province.
The agreement also reaffirms the contribution of 1.5% of total sales as stipulated in the Environmental Impact Assessment, with payments scheduled to begin in the sixth year of project operations. According to the announcement, this mechanism will provide an additional source of funding for infrastructure and other provincial initiatives, supplementing revenue from mining royalties.
Another key aspect of the agreement is the consolidation of all financial obligations arising from the Environmental Impact Assessment into a single contractual instrument, streamlining implementation and providing greater predictability for both parties. Accordingly, the provincial government has committed to not imposing new contributions of a similar nature related to the Vicuña project, establishing the agreed framework as the definitive arrangement governing EIA obligations.
Ron Hochstein, President and CEO of Vicuña Corp., stated that a project of this scale requires clear rules and long-term predictability, and that this agreement represents a significant step toward creating the conditions to provide greater certainty for investment and for fulfilling commitments to the province of San Juan.
From a development perspective, the agreement aims to establish the institutional and financial foundations needed to support the project's future construction and operations, while strengthening provincial infrastructure planning and providing greater predictability for one of the major copper projects currently under development in Argentina.
Vicuña Corp. is a 50/50 joint venture between BHP and Lundin Mining, developing the Josemaría copper deposit in the province of San Juan, Argentina, an advanced-stage copper project. The company is also advancing the Filo Del Sol copper-gold-silver deposit, located in San Juan province and the neighboring Atacama region of Chile.
