Rio Tinto in talks to increase stake in Los Azules, Argentina

Rio Tinto is considering expanding its 17.2% involvement successful McEwen Copper's Los Azules task successful Argentina's San Juan province, according to 2 manufacture sources, arsenic reported Reuters.

The task is said to beryllium among the world's largest undeveloped copper projects, signalling Rio Tinto's intent to get large-scale copper assets amidst rising request driven by information centres and the cleanable vigor transition.

Owned done Nuton, its copper exertion venture, Rio Tinto is assessing the economical imaginable of Los Azules and investigating its proprietary leaching exertion astatine the site, sources revealed.

The company's absorption connected integrated maturation follows unsuccessful merger discussions with Glencore.

Rio Tinto refrained to remark connected the situation.

McEwen Copper managing manager Michael Meding told Reuters: “We are evidently discussing with our existing spouse Nuton due to the fact that their exertion makes truthful overmuch sense.”

Meding added: “Now that Rio Tinto is gathering their ​copper pipeline, they fundamentally person a mandate to adhd copper for their accumulation profile. So we are ‌having ⁠fruitful conversations.”

The acquisition of a larger involvement could heighten Rio Tinto's copper resources astatine a clip erstwhile caller findings are constricted and contention for prime assets intensifies.

Nuton initially invested astir $100m (£73.53m) to unafraid its involvement successful McEwen Copper, a portion of McEwen Mining.

A feasibility survey estimates the project's after-tax nett contiguous worth astatine $2.9bn, with archetypal accumulation anticipated by 2030.

In its archetypal 5 years, the excavation aims to nutrient astir 204,800t of copper cathode annually.

Besides Nuton, Stellantis holds an 18.3% involvement successful McEwen Copper. The automotive institution invested astir $275m to unafraid earthy materials for electrical conveyance batteries.

McEwen Copper seeks archetypal superior of astir $4bn (C$5.47bn) for the mine's improvement and plans to motorboat a $300m archetypal nationalist offering aboriginal this year.

Los Azules is situated successful the Andes Mountains astir 80km west-north-west of Calingasta and 6km from the Chilean borderline astatine an altitude of astir 3,500m.

"Rio Tinto successful talks to summation involvement successful Los Azules, Argentina" was primitively created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.

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