Lundin Mining’s Vicuña PEA defines a world‑class Argentina–Chile copper‑gold‑silver district

The Vicuña integrated study delivers a clear answer: the district can be developed as a globally significant copper‑gold‑silver operation with robust economics under a staged execution. The Study quantifies an after‑tax NPV8% of about $9.5 billion and an after‑tax IRR of roughly 14.8% on the base case, rising sharply at current metal prices.

Technically, the plan sequences a sulphide concentrator fed from Josemaría (Stage 1), adds Filo del Sol oxide leach and SX/EW in Stage 2, and expands to process Filo del Sol sulphides in Stage 3. The flowsheet relies on conventional crushing, grinding and flotation for sulphides and on heap‑leach plus SX/EW and Merrill‑Crowe for oxide streams, with recoveries and metallurgy driven by recent pilot and variability testing. The Study couples processing scale with major district infrastructure requirements: a desalination pipeline, long‑distance transmission lines and a proposed concentrate roaster for high‑arsenic material.

• Average annual production (first 25 years): ~395 kt Cu, 711 koz Au, 22.2 Moz Ag.
• Peak profile (10‑yr avg): >500 ktpa Cu, ~800 koz Au.
• Life of mine: >70 years with ~22.3 Mt Cu contained.
• Stage 1 capital: $7.1B; total stages 1–3 estimated at $18.1B.
• Operating cost metrics (25‑yr window): cash cost of roughly ($0.20)/lb Cu and AISC near $0.47/lb in the initial period.
• Average annual free cash flow: ~$2.2B/yr (first 25 years, after expansionary capital).

Resource and mine planning inputs are consequential: the updated estimate reports material growth across measured, indicated and inferred categories, driven primarily by new drilling at Filo del Sol and revised price/cut‑off inputs. The modelling used ordinary kriging and conditional simulation per domain, and pit shells were generated using conservative price decks tied to the PEA sensitivity cases. Metallurgical recovery curves were applied at the block level to translate resources into recoverable metal in the economic model.

Risks remain explicit and conventional: a PEA is conceptual and includes Inferred material that cannot underwrite reserves; permitting, binational approvals, water and power infrastructure, concentrate chemistry (high arsenic) and capital mobilization are principal execution items. The Study addresses mitigation paths — staged funding, third‑party infrastructure financing, and phased permitting — but converts technical potential to value only if those enablers are secured. The joint‑venture governance with BHP and planned credit facility capacity provide near‑term funding optionality for Stage 1 but do not replace the need for final sanction and project financing.

For investors and planners, the takeaway is pragmatic: Vicuña combines scale, low unit costs in the early decades, and strong leverage to copper and gold prices, implying materially higher NPV and IRR under upside commodity scenarios. The next work‑packages are detailed engineering, road and site readiness, optimisation studies for later stages, and advancing binational permitting — each capable of moving the Project from concept to sanctionable execution.