Canadian mining entrepreneur Rob McEwen said he’s weighing financing options for a copper project in Argentina, with an initial public offering possible as soon as November.
While McEwen Copper Inc. is funded into next year as it drills the Los Azules project, it may go public later in 2023 or early 2024 to bankroll a feasibility study. The IPO could be in the range of $100 million to $150 million, although another private financing round is also an option, McEwen and copper unit chief Michael Meding both said in an interview.
The company hopes to complete the feasibility study late next year or early 2025 and start producing copper toward the end of the decade. Recent investments by automaker Stellantis NV and miner Rio Tinto Group have given the venture more breathing space.
At the same time, McEwen is talking to “various sources” about providing part of the $2.5 billion needed to build the mine, said the founder and former chairman of Goldcorp Inc. Construction financing would probably see McEwen Mining Inc.’s 52% interest in the copper unit “reduced by some degree,” he said.
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The prospect of copper shortages — as demand for the wiring metal accelerates in the energy transition — is boosting the appeal of investing in large-scale deposits. Partly as a result, large producers are taking another look at Argentina after interventionist policies had held back the industry.
Despite an uncertain political situation in the inflation-ravaged nation, McEwen is optimistic about being able to move ahead with Los Azules no matter who is in power. The two executives spoke after outsider congressman Javier Milei pulled off an unexpected primary win that upended this year’s presidential race.
(By James Attwood)
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