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    McEwen Copper’s $4B Los Azules plan: project economics and design notes for engineers

    April 7, 2026|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    McEwen Copper’s $4B Los Azules plan: project economics and design notes for engineers

    First reported on MINING.com

    30 Second Briefing

    McEwen Copper is seeking about $4 billion in financing, including export-credit support from agencies such as the US Export-Import Bank and the US International Development Finance Corp., to build the Los Azules copper project in Argentina. The feasibility-stage operation targets copper cathode production, not concentrate, with planned output of 205,000 tonnes per year for the first five years, then averaging 148,000 tonnes over a projected 22-year mine life, extendable to 33 years. Backers include Stellantis and Rio Tinto’s Nuton, with a $300 million IPO and first production by 2030 under consideration.

    Technical Brief

    • Financing structure targets 30–40% equity, with export-credit agencies covering up to 85% of equipment costs.
    • Export-credit support is being tied specifically to US-made mining equipment procurement, including haul trucks.
    • Due diligence spend by existing partners already totals several million dollars, indicating advanced technical and financial review.
    • Feasibility work positions Los Azules in the second-lowest quartile of the global copper cost curve.
    • Argentina’s Large Investment Incentive Regime grants Los Azules project-level tax incentives to improve post-tax economics.

    Our Take

    Los Azules would reintroduce copper production to Argentina after the country’s last output in 2018, and our database shows most recent Argentina pieces (like Enaex’s electric charging unit at Minera Santa Cruz) have focused on gold-silver, underscoring how unusual a large copper build is in this jurisdiction.

    McEwen Mining’s parallel activity in Mexico (El Gallo EIA extension, December 2025) and high‑grade gold drilling in Ontario suggests the group is keeping smaller gold assets advancing while McEwen Copper pursues long‑dated copper growth in Argentina, which may help balance cash flow against the long 22–33 year mine‑life profile at Los Azules.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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