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 ↗
The works, milestone by milestone
We have not built this project’s timeline. Dated milestones with their source close it.
Who already has a contract
The project has been filed under the RIGI and has not been approved yet. Construction awards 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 modeling of the 500 kV corridor: generation (San Juan solar) plus dedicated lines are a precondition to construction.
- How to become a supplier — We have not built this project’s entry map. It is our gap, not a prohibition: it closes by opening the provincial register and the operator’s single window.
- What it will buy, and when — We have not built this project’s phase → demand chain: its schedule still has to be crossed with the province’s catalog of markets and trades.
Get on board the takeoff
Tell us what you are looking for and we will reply. This is what we work on: proyectos RIGI, proveedores y datos verificados de San Juan.
What it leaves in San Juanjobs, works, taxes, promises and the outlook
The works that stay behind
The project has been filed under the RIGI and has not been approved yet. Permanent works are documented once construction starts.
What it already pays in taxes and royalties
The project has been filed under the RIGI and has not been approved yet. Royalties and production taxes begin with operation.
Who promised what
We have not surveyed the public promises about this project. A dated, verifiable commitment with its source closes them.
What could stall itrisks and how to track them
- What could stall it — We have not documented this project’s risks. An identifiable vector with its source closes them.
- How to tell whether it is advancing — We have not defined this project’s indicators: what observable fact marks its progress still has to be identified.
How we verified thisthe act, the gaps and the sources
The RIGI act, in detail
The project has been filed under the RIGI and has not been approved yet. The instrument is published in the Boletín Oficial once the Committee approves the accession.
What we could not confirm
There are 1 in this project. Each says why it could not be confirmed and what it would take to close it.
H-01When construction starts, when operation begins, and where the 10,000+ construction jobs come from+
There is no admission resolution published: the application was filed on Aug 18, 2025 and is still under review, so the act where the Ministry transcribes the schedule does not exist. The dates in this file —construction from 2029, first production around 2034— and the expected employment of more than 10,000 construction jobs and some 2,500 in operation come from the press, with no primary source read.
