BHP and Lundin Mining Corporation have entered into an agreement to jointly acquire 100% of Filo Corp., which owns the #FilodelSol #copper project, and establish a 50/50 joint venture to manage the Filo del Sol and #Josemaria projects in #Argentina and #Chile. Lundin Mining currently holds the Josemaria project, with BHP's total cash payment for the transaction expected to be around US$2.1 billion.
Reflecting on this transaction, assuming completion in Q1 2025, three key insights emerge:
- The deal highlights the shift towards asset-level or portfolio-based mergers over large-scale acquisitions, focusing on immediate asset development without post-merger complexities.
- Exploration and project development of large copper assets are lengthy - 21 and 25 years in the Josemaria and Filo del Sol cases, respectively. Final feasibility, permitting, financing and construction will take some more years.
- Both projects are situated in remote, high-altitude locations (4,000-5,400 m), necessitating autonomous operations with minimal on-site personnel. Technologies like #IoT, #machinelearning, and #AI will play integral roles in project execution.
If you are not familiar with the projects, Filo Del Sol is remote, located on the Chile/Argentina border in the famous #Atacama region. The property is elevated between 4,500 and 5,400 m. It has been explored for the last 25 years, and the resource still remains open for expansion in several directions and at depth in several different styles of mineralisation, metal combinations, and grade distribution.
Josemaria is also near the border, located in the #SanJuan Province of Argentina, 9 km to the east this time. Its elevation ranges from 4,000 to 4,900 m and has steep slopes. Access to the open pit site is to be from the city of San Juan – where the project has ready access to water, grid power, and logistics infrastructure. It has had continuous drilling campaigns since 2003, after its discovery, and may also be positioned as the centre of gravity for a district-scale development and expansion for copper-focused exploration.
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