Canada's Aldebaran plans $1.5 billion capex for Argentina copper project

By Lucila Sigal

SAN JUAN, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Canada's Aldebaran Resources will require at least $1.5 billion to develop its Altar copper project in northern Argentina, country manager Javier Robeto said in an interview.

The company plans to include the figure in its preliminary economic assessment in September, which will show that Altar holds about 32 billion pounds of copper resources and 6.7 million ounces of gold resources, Robeto said.

Aldebaran is unsure it will be ready to deploy the spending in time to qualify for a government incentives program known as RIGI, which offers lengthy tax breaks and access to international dispute courts for investments exceeding $200 million.

The scheme will accept applications through July 2026, with a potential one-year extension.

"It's not certain we'll make it. It's a challenge because if the RIGI is cut off, what happens next? The tax burden automatically returns to 54%," Robeto said.

So far only two mining projects, both in lithium, have been approved for RIGI, which went into effect in October under President Javier Milei.

Among other copper projects in the works, miners Glencore and McEwen Mining are also applying for the program.

Robeto did not provide a potential timeline for construction and production at Altar, which has an estimated lifespan of 20 to 25 years. The economic assessment will include two scenarios for copper production, either in concentrate or cathode form.

"The idea would be to conduct a trade-off analysis, looking at the pros and cons," Robeto said.