El Pachón - copper, silver and molybdenum (Glencore)
Phase 1 of one of Argentina's two largest undeveloped copper deposits, alongside Vicuña: a resource declared by Glencore of ~6,000 Mt @ 0.43% Cu, 2.2 g/t Ag and 130 g/t Mo. Declared expected employment: +10,000 direct in construction and +2,500 in operation. Tentative press timeline (probable, no primary source): construction from 2029, first production ~2034. Electrical demand modeled by ENRE to 2030: 300 MW (Res 219/2026). 2025-26 exploration campaign: 21,246 m in 53 holes, a peak of 600 workers, USD 44.5 M in provincial purchases 2025 (mining press, probable).
The projectwhat it is, the route, the owners, the works and the contractors
Who owns it
Glencore (100%; listed LSE:GLEN) verif · Aug 18, 2025 ↗
What is missing from this fact sheet
Above is what has already passed verification with its source: who operates it, how much it declares it will invest, where it stands under the RIGI and where it is. Still missing are the works milestone by milestone, the contractors, the entry map for suppliers, what it leaves in the province and what could stall it: that is published once it passes the three layers, not before. The project has been filed under the RIGI and has not been approved yet. The works, the awards and the instrument in the Boletín Oficial come later.
How to supply itwhere to register, what they ask for and what they will buy
What it will need and has no supplier for yet
Earthmoving, tunnels and large-scale Andean civil works
highA USD 9,500 M Phase 1 in Calingasta at ~3,600 m above sea level, with tentative construction in 2029-2034: the civil-works package arrives after Vicuña's peak and extends the demand wave by a decade.
Power and transmission (300 MW of demand modelled to 2030)
highThe ENRE already counts 300 MW for El Pachón in its modelling of the 500 kV corridor: generation (San Juan solar) plus dedicated lines are a precondition to construction.
Get on board the takeoff
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