CUYO · THE SUPPLIER TRACK
What the projects in San Juan are going to buy
USD1,124million per year · sum of the TAMs of 8 niches · they overlap — the method of each one is in its own page ↓
All three tracks promise the same thing: this province, from your angle. This is the one for whoever sells — what demand each project opens, who is already covering it and where the gap is.
Ignacio Aredez· Chief analyst
Credentials and track record →Quantified niches
see ↓8
each with its USD TAM, its gap and its competitive map
Ecosystem companies
see ↓6
operators that buy and suppliers already in
Opportunities · where you come in · 8 satellite niches
The entry point to the boom: satellite-service niches quantified in USD, with their competitive map, the gap to enter and how demand evolves.
What this menu covers, stated plainly: the eight quantified niches are the high-altitude services of the copper wave —Vicuña, Los Azules and El Pachón, above 3,500 metres— resting on the base that the gold of Veladero and Gualcamayo already sustains: fleet, beds, laboratory, blasting and road. Electromechanical erection and plant electrical installation are not here, and not because they are not the gap: our own provincial analysis flags them as the link where local supply is almost non-existent and the bulk will come from outside —Vicuña's early electrical tenders, 33 kV and Phase II of the camp, drew seven bidders—, but the spend is only defined with the EPC of the mill and of the SX/EW, and with no package awarded there is no TAM to publish. We will size it when there is one; in the meantime the project lives in the Vicuña card of the portfolio. The other thing this menu deliberately leaves out is what is captive: the module manufactured in Beijing —PowerChina won with USD 52 M against the USD 70 M of the Argentine bidder—, the explosive and the initiation systems shielded by the ANMaC licence, which is 70-75% of that niche, and the anchor contracts of deep drilling. Each card publishes the activity and, separately, the addressable share: here the TAM is not sold as if it were the opportunity.
the matrix continues — swipe →
urgentdemand now2
sustainedthe whole curve4
emergingsmall today, growing2
Mine coreMining core
High-altitude infrastructure
Services and campSupport
amounts = estimated market per year (our own calculation, transparent method) · each one’s seal and source, in its profile ↓
category
arc
Support
Services and camp
camp, catering, transport and lab
4 niches · 2 with urgent demand
Mining camps and modular housing (San Juan)Camps / modular construction (mine construction) · housing-module manufacturers / camp builders
USD 55-120 M/yearurgent demand
Window: the construction peak erects thousands of beds 2026-2030; past the peak, the module is redeployed or scaled down.
competition Extreme and forming: a single (Chinese-Argentine) consortium won the only large package…
Catering and remote high-altitude site hospitality (San Juan)Catering / camp facility (mining economy) · remote-site catering and hospitality companies
~USD 90-180 M/year average 2026-2030urgent demand
the stickiest and most counter-cyclical — the workforce eats every day, in construction and in operation.
competition Very high and — a distinctive fact — local: CR2 (Caterwest + JSC) ≈ 70-75% of person-days…
Geochemical laboratory and sample preparation in San JuanTesting laboratories / geochemical services · geochemical laboratories / prep-labs
USD 8-16 M/yearwindow open
small today (samples used to travel to Mendoza), it grows with each campaign and jumps when the mines operate and need process control.
competition Until Apr-2026: an oligopoly of 3 globals + 1 regional resolved in ONE facility…
Mining personnel transport and people-to-mine logistics (San Juan)Passenger transport / personnel transfer (mining economy) · mining-spec passenger transporters
USD 18-35 M/year at the 2028-2029 peakwindow open
it exists today (gold in operation), climbs to the rotation peak 2028-2029 and leaves an operation core post-2031.
competition C3 ≈ 85-90% estim over a small base (~USD 4-6 M/year today)
Mining core
Mine core
drilling, blasting and extraction
2 niches
Exploration drilling and core-drilling services (San Juan)Mining drilling / core drilling · drilling companies (diamond/RC/geotechnics/blastholes)
USD 60-65 M/yearwindow open
exploration drilling today + construction geotechnics later — the core of the whole curve.
competition High in the anchor contracts: the 4 globals (Major, Foraco, Boart, Griffith) capture ~50-60%…
Blasting, explosives and blasthole drilling (San Juan)Explosives / blasting services · explosives manufacturers / drill & blast services
USD 25-30 M/year today and ~USD 210 M/yearwindow open
Emerging and perpetual: small today, it multiplies when copper enters production (toward 2034) — shielded for decades (Vicuña +70 years).
competition Maximum and structural oligopoly: 3 globals (Orica, Enaex, Austin Powder) ≈ 100% of the…
High-altitude infrastructure
mountain roads, power and transmission
2 niches · 2 with urgent demand
Energy and transmission for the copper wave (+ mining solar, San Juan)Energy / mining electrical infrastructure · renewable developers / electrical EPC / energy transmission operators
USD 300-550 M/year in the 2026-2030 window, adjusted center ~350-450 M/yearurgent demand
the only one with a perpetual core — energy sales + O&M for 25+ years, beyond the construction.
competition Very high in the trunk: Transener is the builder designated by ENRE Resolution 219/2026…
High-mountain road works and earthmoving (San Juan)Road works / earthmoving for mine construction · road builders / high-altitude earthmoving contractors
USD 300-400 M/year at the 2027-2029 peak; ~USD 1,100-1,500 M cumulative 2026-2030urgent demand
Window: it is a wave, not an annuity — high-altitude access is built NOW for the 2027-2029 construction peak.
competition Low-to-medium and transitory: no player exceeds ~20% and 40-50% of the market is unawarded…
The market figures are estimates with a transparent method, not official data. The arc is our reading of how demand evolves (estimate/thesis). Tap an opportunity to see the competitive map, the gap and how it is calculated.
Ecosystem companies · San Juan
These six companies are the demand side of the market a supplier plugs into: the operators you invoice. Minera Andina del Sol (Veladero, Barrick-Shandong JV) and Minas Argentinas (Gualcamayo) bill the gold that sustains the province today; Vicuña Corp (BHP-Lundin), McEwen Copper (Los Azules) and Glencore (El Pachón) put up the capital for the copper to come. Vicuña is also already the largest buyer in San Juan's supply base: 264 supplier companies, 158 from San Juan (~60% of contracts) prob the operator itself — already brushing the 60% the local-content law requires. The opportunity map above comes from crossing demand with local supply: where copper construction grows and the San Juan supplier does not yet reach.
The crackThe entry gap here is not only capital: it is a law. The Local Mining Development Law reserves 60% of purchases and 80% of jobs for San Juan residents and creates RE.PRO.MIN, the mandatory registry of mining suppliers. Whoever settles and gets certified first enters a market reserved by rule —with the caveat that the local supplier offers competitive terms— rather than fighting for share against a twenty-year incumbent in gold.
Operatorsthe corridor's demand · who operates each link6
01Challenger Gold (Hualilán)The Australian junior that debuted the country's first mining…Operator›
Challenger Gold (Hualilán)
The Australian junior that debuted the country's first mining…
Profile
Australian junior (100% of Hualilán, resource ~2.8 Moz AuEq) that poured its first gold in Jun 2026 (~500 oz Au + 6,000 oz Ag) with a model unprecedented in Argentina: toll milling at Austral Gold's Casposo plant - 450,000 t guaranteed over 3 years, ore hauled 165 km - with only ~USD 8.9 M of initial capital prob converging mining press. The standalone PFS (May 2026) projects USD 232 M of initial capex and ~135 koz/yr for 12 years prob. It operates with outsourced drill & blast (Orica + Thor S.A.). The case demonstrates the processing-capacity gap: ore is plentiful and plants are scarce.
02Glencore (El Pachón)The Swiss trading giant holding San Juan's second copper…Operator›
Glencore (El Pachón)
The Swiss trading giant holding San Juan's second copper…
Declared resourceverif
~6,000Mt of ore
declared resource · RIGI application 0.43% Cu + 2.2 g/t Ag + 130 g/t Mo
Reserves
Resource declared by Glencore in the RIGI application: ~6,000 Mt @ 0.43% Cu, 2.2 g/t Ag and 130 g/t Mo.
Profile
100% owner of El Pachón, whose Phase 1 went to the RIGI on Aug 18, 2025 for USD 9,500 M (range 8,500-10,500), still NOT approved as of Jul 2026 - approval is THE event to watch in the San Juan portfolio. It also submitted MARA/Agua Rica (Catamarca, USD 4,000 M). 2025-26 exploration campaign at El Pachón: 21,246 m across 53 holes, peak of 600 workers, USD 44.5 M in provincial purchases and services in 2025 and 2 bridges worth USD 15 M prob mining press. Tentative press timeline: construction 2029, production ~2034.
03McEwen Copper (Los Azules)The country's first 'green' copper cathode, with Stellantis and…privateOperator›
McEwen Copper (Los Azules)
The country's first 'green' copper cathode, with Stellantis and…
P&P reservesverif
1,023Mt of ore
P&P reserves · Oct 2025 0.453% Cu = 10.2 B lb Cu · 21-year mine life
Production (plan)verif
204,800t Cu/yr
plan 2030 · not producing yet cathodes, average years 1-5 (148,200 t/yr life-of-mine avg.)
Production
No production yet (first copper projected: 2030; SX/EW plant starts 2029). FS plan: 204,800 t/yr of cathodes average years 1-5 (148,200 t/yr life-of-mine average); initial capex USD 3,168 M; NPV8 after-tax USD 2,940 M; IRR 19.8%; payback 3.87 years.
Reserves
P&P reserves (Feasibility Study, Oct 7, 2025): 1,023 Mt @ 0.453% Cu = 10.2 B lb of copper. Mine life: 21 years.
Profile
McEwen Inc.'s vehicle for Los Azules, San Juan's oldest approved mining RIGI (Res 1553/2025, USD 2,672 M eligible; minimum-investment deadline Dec 31, 2027 that forces early construction). The 'green copper' positioning (cathodes with a renewable power mix) brought in Stellantis (an automotive buyer) and Nuton/Rio Tinto (leaching technology) as shareholders: a case of buyer vertical integration that exists in no other Argentine project.
RIGI projects
04Minas Argentinas (Gualcamayo - grupo Eris/AISA)The mature mine betting on a rebirth at depth…privateOperator›
Minas Argentinas (Gualcamayo - grupo Eris/AISA)
The mature mine betting on a rebirth at depth…
Profile
Operator of Gualcamayo, bought by Eris LLC (AISA Group) from Colombia's Mineros S.A. in 2023 - a sale at a NEGATIVE price: Mineros paid USD 6.5 M to the buyer for the assumed liabilities, plus a USD 30 M contingent payment to Nomad Royalty conditioned on the commissioning of the DCP prob Mineros release via convergence. Today it produces residual gold via secondary leaching while building the Carbonatos Profundos project (RIGI Res 6/2026: USD 519.6 M eligible / ~665 M announced), targeting ~120 koz/yr from ~2029 prob. The operator also announced a 'second RIGI' (~USD 1,500 M) to move from mine to mining district prob press.
05Minera Andina del Sol (Veladero - JV Barrick/Shandong)The province's largest operating gold mine, today the floor under…privateOperator›
Minera Andina del Sol (Veladero - JV Barrick/Shandong)
The province's largest operating gold mine, today the floor under…
Profile
50/50 JV between Barrick and Shandong Gold (since 2017; the operator is Minera Andina del Sol SRL, formerly Minera Argentina Gold). Veladero has operated since 2005 and is the core of San Juan's current mining floor: it produced 505 koz of gold in 2024 at the mine level (100% basis; 252 koz attributable to Barrick, +22% YoY) —its best output in five years, with the Phase 7B leach pad commissioned— verif Barrick 6-K FY2024 en SEC EDGAR, EX-99.1; 2025 guidance of 380-440 koz. The RIGI for leaching phases 8-9 (Res 413/2026, USD 436 M total / USD 380.1 M eligible) extends the mine life toward 2034 with up to 800 construction workers. Labor regime: CCT 673/04 'E' with AOMA (14x14 roster). Shandong's JV also explores Del Carmen/Jaguelito, adjacent to Vicuña prob.
06Vicuña Corp (JV BHP - Lundin Mining)The country's largest copper project: a JV of two global majorsprivateOperator›
Vicuña Corp (JV BHP - Lundin Mining)
The country's largest copper project: a JV of two global majors
M&I resourceverif
3,638Mt of ore
NI 43-101 resource · Apr 2025 0.35% Cu = 12.8 Mt Cu + 32.2 Moz Au + 659 Moz Ag
Production (plan)verif
395kt Cu/yr
plan 2030 · not producing yet + 711 koz Au/yr · average of the first 25 years
Production
No production yet (first production projected: 2030). Integrated Technical Study plan (effective Oct 31, 2025): 395 kt of copper + 711 koz of gold per year, average of the first 25 years, with an initial life of +70 years; capex in 3 stages USD 7,100 M + 3,900 M + 7,100 M = USD 18,100 M; NPV8 post-tax USD 9,500 M, IRR 14.8%.
Reserves
Vicuña district resource (Josemaría + Filo del Sol), effective Apr 15, 2025: M&I 3,638 Mt @ 0.35% Cu = 12.8 Mt of copper + 32.2 Moz of gold + 659 Moz of silver; inferred 7,895 Mt = 25.1 Mt Cu + 48.7 Moz Au + 808 Moz Ag. Top-10 worldwide in resources among producing copper mines; 'the largest greenfield copper discovery of the last 30 years' (Lundin).
Profile
50/50 JV between BHP and Lundin Mining created by acquiring Filo Corp (closed Jan 2025) and integrating Josemaría: Argentina's largest mining district under development and the RIGI's first copper PEELP (USD 9,700 M initial). On the ground it is already the largest buyer in the San Juan supplier base: 264 active supplier companies (158 from San Juan, ~60% of contracts) as of May 2026 prob local press. Integrated agreement with the province negotiated in Vancouver (Mar 2026): infrastructure + public works financed by the company + royalty stability; formal signing pending confirmation.
How to read the seals → verif primary source · prob primary source pending · unconf not sufficiently backed · estim our own calculation · thesis our reading
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Market figures are estimates with a transparent method, not official data: every niche publishes how it is calculated. Looking for the investment numbers? See the version to invest. Jobs and trades? The version to work.