Argentina Approves $250 Million Vicuña Infrastructure Agreement

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 19, the San Juan Provincial Legislature of Argentina approved the mining project commitment agreement signed between the provincial government and Vicuña Argentina, with 27 votes in favor and 9 against. The agreement establishes a dedicated fund of up to $250 million for the Fixed Environmental Impact Statement, used to advance local infrastructure works ahead of schedule.

The agreement was signed on August 5 and officially took effect upon legislative approval. Vicuña will inject the $250 million advance payment into a dedicated trust, which will disburse funds to winning contractors based on progress certificates approved by the government. The funds are expected to be in place by the end of the fourth quarter of 2026 and will be available for eligible works under the agreement starting December 20. The upgrade of National Route 40 North is one of the key projects proposed for advancement.

This funding constitutes Vicuña's dedicated infrastructure contribution, is not counted as provincial government borrowing, and does not fall under the mine's main project investment. The agreement consolidates the public works and infrastructure funding obligations set forth in the project's Environmental Impact Statement into a unified trust mechanism, while also defining project screening, fund management, and advance construction arrangements.

The parties also agreed that Vicuña will pay a provincial mining royalty of 3% of revenue throughout the full life cycle of the project; starting from the sixth year of operations, the company will make ongoing contributions to the infrastructure trust at 1.5% of total sales. In turn, San Juan Province committed to not imposing additional Environmental Impact Statement contributions of a similar nature on projects covered by the agreement.

Vicuña is jointly owned by BHP and Lundin Mining, each holding a 50% stake, and is responsible for the integrated development of the Josemaría and Filo del Sol copper-gold-silver deposits. Josemaría is in the pre-construction preparation and permitting stage, while Filo del Sol is still undergoing exploration and resource conversion. The project team is advancing detailed design, mine plan optimization, financing structure, and Phase 1 project cost estimation, targeting an investment decision as early as the end of 2026.