Los Azules — copper cathodes (McEwen Copper)
Leach-based copper cathode project in Calingasta (San Juan). Company/press figures (probable, outside the resolution): resources of ~10,900 M lb Cu indicated + ~26,700 M lb inferred, mine life ~27 years, +3,500 projected jobs.
The projectwhat it is, the route, the owners, the works and the contractors
Who owns it
Andes Corporación Minera S.A. (ACM, CUIT 30-70952278-3; McEwen Copper's vehicle; minority shareholders per press reports: Stellantis ~18.3%, Rio Tinto-Nuton ~17.2%) verif Oct 14, 2025 ↗
The works, milestone by milestone
The company announces the first award of the industrial core: the engineering of the process equipment packages — solvent extraction and electrowinning, sulfuric acid and crushing — goes to Metso. In the same release it states that the mining fleet tender is in final evaluation and that the engineering, procurement and construction management contractor will be selected in the fourth quarter of 2026. The 2025-2026 field campaign closed with more than 5,600 metres of drilling and a peak of more than 500 people, with nearly 90 % hired in San Juan.
McEwen Copper closed a USD 240 million syndicated loan (senior secured, 4 years, 12.0% per year) to fund engineering and early works. Lenders: Sprott Natural Resource Investment Partners USD 112 M, Rob McEwen USD 85 M and others USD 43 M. The final investment decision and full project financing are left for mid-2027; commercial cathode production, for 2030.
The province calls a public hearing, for Thursday 27 August, on the environmental impact study of the «Interconexión Eléctrica del Proyecto Los Azules al SADI», which the company requested in order to obtain the environmental impact declaration for the link. It is a different file from the mine's: it is processed by the Secretaría de Ambiente under the province's general environmental law, not by the Secretaría de Gestión Ambiental y Control Minero that granted the mine's declaration in 2024. The authority, the rule and the participation mechanism all change.
Resolución 330/2026 of the Ente Nacional Regulador del Gas y la Electricidad assigns the Vicuña project priority use over 90 % of the remaining capacity of the 500 kV Nueva San Juan-Rodeo corridor for twenty-five years, and expressly rejects the objection of Andes Corporación Minera S.A. along with those of four other applicants and the municipalities of Calingasta, Jáchal and Iglesia. The company responded by activating the alternative route it already had planned, resting on the infrastructure that PSJ Cobre Mendocino is developing with Distrocuyo.
The company presents its execution strategy to the provincial press and publishes the order in which the packages come out: in 2026, the engineering and construction contract for the process core, the access road, the construction camps and the operating offices in San Juan; between late 2026 and early 2027, the leach pad, the high-voltage line, the mine development and the logistics centres; afterwards, the crushing, sulfuric acid, solvent extraction and electrowinning plants and the stacking systems. It also states that it contracts the support infrastructure directly, in order to widen the participation of San Juan suppliers.
The company publishes its procurement balance: between January 2025 and April 2026 it invested USD 83.9 million, of which USD 58.9 million went to suppliers and contractors, with 73.5 % of that billing to San Juan firms and 68 % of the providers based in the province. Headcount reached 512 people in April between its own staff and contractors, 87 % from San Juan. In the same balance it declares the Pioneer Camp completed and work started on the pioneer road.
Resolución 1553/2025 of the Ministerio de Economía is published, approving accession to the RIGI. It declares USD 2,672,171,207 of total investment and USD 2,353,624,141.07 of countable assets, with a plan that jumps from USD 33.5 million in the first year to USD 382.3 million in the second, a deadline of 31 December 2027, and a local procurement commitment of 61.1 % on the amount allocated to suppliers.
The feasibility study is published: initial capex of USD 3,167.9 million, 21 years of mine life, average output of 204,800 tonnes of cathodes per year in the first five years, first cathode in 2030 and mine closure budgeted at USD 386 million. It contemplates no tailings dam. It was led by Samuel Engineering with Knight Piésold, AGP Mining Consultants, E-Mining Technology and ten other consultancies.
Accession date to the regime: 25 September 2025. It is the company itself that accedes, not a branch: Andes Corporación Minera S.A. amended its corporate purpose to devote it exclusively to the project, which is the alternative route to setting up a dedicated branch.
The Ministerio de Minería of San Juan approves the project's environmental impact assessment and issues its Environmental Impact Declaration, the permit that enables future construction and operation. The documentation had been filed in April 2023 and was compiled by 22 San Juan specialists; the evaluation committee brought together 14 public and private institutions and reviewed more than 3,000 pages, with public consultation and a site visit.
Who already has a contract
Awarded. The operator announced it on 27 August 2026 together with two things that date what comes next: the mining fleet tender is in final evaluation and the contractor that will manage the engineering, procurement and construction of the process core is chosen in the fourth quarter of 2026.
It led the feasibility study published on 7 October 2025, which set the initial capex at USD 3,167.9 million, a mine life of 21 years and the first copper cathode for 2030. The qualified persons signing for it are James L. Sorensen (project execution), Michael McGlynn (metallurgy and processing) and Steve Pozder (financial model).
It took part in the feasibility study and in the environmental file. The operator stated that the environmental impact report team included 22 San Juan specialists.
Responsible for the reserve estimate and the mine design that underpins the twelve pit phases and the 21 years of mine life in the base case.
It ended up in charge of the slope stability analysis after, according to the study itself, several consultants had reviewed the data.
The line is valued at some USD 440 million and sits OUTSIDE the USD 3,167.9 million capex of the feasibility study, precisely because the utility builds it rather than the miner. Verbatim from the study: it was not included in the capital estimate «porque YPF Luz, una importante empresa de servicios eléctricos argentina, construirá la línea sin costo para la compañía» — because YPF Luz, a major Argentine power utility, will build the line at no cost to the company.
It carries out road works and maintenance inside the project, according to the only open source that states it. It is a San Juan company and it is in the province's three large copper projects: here, at El Pachón — where the owner itself names it «la empresa sanjuanina a cargo de la obra» of the two Calingasta bridges — and at Vicuña, which in June 2025 awarded it the maintenance of the 170 km of the Angualasto-La Majadita road.
How to supply itwhere to register, what they ask for and what they will buy
How to become a supplier
Andes Corporación Minera S.A. (ACM S.A.), CUIT 30-70952278-3. There is no dedicated branch: the company amended its corporate purpose to devote it exclusively to the project, which is the alternative to splitting itself.
There are TWO different buyers here, and confusing them costs the contract. The industrial core — crushing, solvent extraction and electrowinning, acid plant and stacking — will be managed by the engineering, procurement and construction contractor the company selects in the fourth quarter of 2026: that is who to qualify with, not the miner. The support infrastructure — roads, camps, offices, power line, mine works, leach pad and support services — is contracted DIRECTLY by the project's management team, based in the city of San Juan, and the company itself states that it chose that scheme to widen the participation of San Juan suppliers. There the decision is local.
The registration routes that exist today, with their status. The one that is up and running is not always the official one.
RE.PRO.MIN. — Registro Provincial de Proveedores Mineros
being builtIt is the registry created by Ley 2827-M and the only one the law recognises: without a valid certificate there, the purchase does not count towards the miner's local procurement target. ⚠️ It is not operational yet.
The supplier meetings the company itself organises
up and running todayToday it is the only door known to be open and in use: the company convenes San Juan mining suppliers, presents its progress and its contracting plan, and there it announces which packages come out and when. That mechanism produced the June 2026 balance, with USD 58.9 million billed to suppliers and contractors, of which 73.5 % went to San Juan firms, and with 68 % of the providers based in the province.
Calidad en Comunidad — the provincial ISO 9001 certification programme
up and running todayA programme run by the provincial ministries of Minería and Producción so that SMEs in Iglesia, Jáchal and Calingasta can certify the quality management standard. In August 2026 it entered the implementation stage with some 24 companies: Universidad Católica de Cuyo provides the technical support and the certification body Lenor audits those that qualify. It runs until December 2026, and the Ministerio de Minería's director of Sustainable Development clarifies that «la certificación no será automática, sólo accederán a ella aquellas empresas que logren superar las auditorías correspondientes» — certification will not be automatic, only firms that pass the corresponding audits will obtain it.
What they ask you for
Local roots, so that the purchase counts for the miner: an authorised operating establishment and legal and tax domicile in the province, plus at least 51 % of the share capital held by people from San Juan, and employing no less than 80 % local workers on the average annual payroll. verif Jul 2, 2026 ↗Article 12 of Ley 2827-M, verbatim: «Cumplir con al menos uno (1) de los siguientes criterios de arraigo local: a) Para Sociedades Comerciales, tener como titulares, al menos el CINCUENTA Y UNO POR CIENTO (51 %) del capital social, o de la participación que otorga los votos necesarios para formar la voluntad social»; and «Emplear trabajadores locales… en un porcentaje no inferior al ochenta por ciento (80 %) del total de la nómina promedio anual». The required seniority is 24 months to qualify as a supplier of the community of influence and 12 months for the rest of the province.
The door for those who cannot meet the local-roots test: partner up. A joint venture can register as an «Asociación de Empresas con Participación Local» with a minimum 25 % local stake, but it counts as local procurement only in the amount proportional to that stake. verif Jul 2, 2026 ↗Article 14 of Ley 2827-M, verbatim: «deberán contar con una participación local mínima no inferior al VEINTICINCO POR CIENTO (25 %) del capital, participación contractual, resultados económicos o derechos de decisión de la asociación, integrada por uno o más Proveedores Locales»; and «serán consideradas como contrataciones locales, según el caso, solo en el monto proporcional correspondiente a la participación de las empresas locales miembros».
What this project committed to before the national state, and it is three times the floor: 61.1 % of the investment amount allocated to paying suppliers, goods and infrastructure works, during construction and operation, goes to local suppliers. verif Oct 14, 2025 ↗Verbatim from the recital of the accession resolution: «el sesenta y uno coma uno por ciento (61,1 %) de la totalidad del monto de inversión destinado al pago de proveedores, bienes y obras de infraestructura, durante las etapas de construcción y operación, corresponde a proveedores locales» — «porcentaje que excede el veinte por ciento (20 %) comprometido por la empresa y exigido por la normativa vigente».
For the process core, the qualification is not done by the miner: the pre-qualification of engineering, procurement and construction management firms has already run, and the one that will manage them is selected in the fourth quarter of 2026. prob Jun 8, 2026 ↗The company reported progress «en la precalificación de compañías EPCM… proceso orientado a seleccionar al contratista que gestionará la ingeniería, procura y construcción del núcleo de proceso del proyecto (plantas de trituración, extracción por solvente y electroobtención y producción de ácido sulfúrico)» — in the pre-qualification of EPCM firms to manage the engineering, procurement and construction of the project's process core — and confirmed before the United States securities regulator that this selection is expected for the fourth quarter of 2026.
The order you get in by
Decide which of the two buyers to target: the support infrastructure, contracted directly by the project team in San Juan, or the process core, which will be managed by an engineering and construction contractor not yet chosen. your own call; it changes everything that follows
Register with the RE.PRO.MIN. once it opens: without a valid certificate, the purchase does not count towards the miner's local procurement target and the supplier falls outside the calculation the company has to declare. the registry is not operational yet; the mining minister said he aims to have it running before the end of 2026
If the 51 % local ownership test of article 12 cannot be met, set up a joint venture with at least a 25 % local stake, which is the route the law itself opens and the one that works for the large infrastructure packages. before the tender comes out, not after
Get on the list for the supplier meetings the company organises: that is where it announces which package comes out and when, and today it is the only door with a public record. by invitation, with no fixed calendar
Target the package by its window: in 2026 the access road, the construction camps and the offices; between late 2026 and early 2027 the leach pad, the high-voltage line, the mine development and the logistics centres; afterwards, crushing, sulfuric acid, solvent extraction and stacking. from 2026 to 2027 depending on the package
What it will buy, and when
The stated investment plan jumps from USD 33.5 M in the first year to USD 382.3 M in the second —twelvefold— with a deadline of Dec 31, 2027: the year that decides everything is the second, and a supplier who only positions itself once it sees movement on site arrives with the bulk already committed.
These are leached copper cathodes: a capital-intensive process, with a lot of plant and little permanent staff relative to the amount invested. The local employment it leaves is in construction and in Calingasta's services, and it appears with a lag relative to the investment.
Each phase buys different things at different times. The links lead to the matching market or trade.
Feasibility, permits and construction of mine, plant and infrastructure
under wayThe approved purpose is «to complete the development (feasibility, permits) and the construction of mine, plant and associated infrastructure to extract and process copper cathodes». Investment plan from admission: USD 33,512,551.05 in the first year and USD 382,262,761.61 in the second —a twelvefold jump from one year to the next—, with a Dec 31, 2027 deadline. ⚠️ The act does not declare a start-up date.
What it will need and has no supplier for yet
Civil works and electromechanical assembly of the leaching/SX-EW plant
highMine and plant construction in 2026-2027 (a minimum-investment deadline of 31-Dec-2027 forces early execution) demands industrial assembly contractors.
Renewable power and Andean transmission line
mediumLos Azules is promoted as the first big 'green' copper: its renewable power mix requires dedicated generation/transmission infrastructure.
We cross what your company does against the projects we track and tell you which ones it fits into, through which door and who it competes against. Two pages, with the evidence behind them.
Analyze my companyWhat it leaves in San Juanjobs, works, taxes, promises and the outlook
The works that stay behind
The infrastructure that stays standing once the works end, with its size and its source.
Permanent public-use bridge over the Los Patos river, connecting Ruta Nacional 149 with Ruta Provincial 12, plus the bypass that takes heavy construction traffic out of the urban centres of Villa Calingasta and Alto Calingasta
Roadsmetres long and seven spans; between 18 and 24 months of work with 60 to 80 people
The towns of Villa Corral, Puchuzum and Villa Nueva, which today have no such crossing, and the two urban centres of Calingasta, which stop absorbing the project's truck traffic.
The company states that the early works include «la construcción de un puente de uso público sobre el río Los Patos, que conectará la Ruta Nacional 149 con la Ruta Provincial 12, vinculando las localidades de Villa Corral, Puchuzum y Villa Nueva» — a public-use bridge linking the two roads and those three towns — and that the new alignment towards the project branches off that crossing, «conformando así un bypass que permitirá desviar el tránsito de construcción fuera del casco urbano de Villa Calingasta y Alto Calingasta». The general manager gave it size and schedule: 240 metres, seven spans, 18 to 24 months and 60 to 80 people, preceded by a temporary crossing of 4 to 6 months with 40 to 50 workers.
Final access road to the deposit, able to carry large and heavy equipment, whose first stage — the pioneer road — is already under construction
Roadsmillion within the initial capex of USD 3,167.9 million
The Calingasta range: it is the route that reaches the deposit and the exploration areas, and it stays open after construction.
The feasibility study allocates USD 93.6 million to access roads within the initial capex. Work has already started: in June 2026 the company declared «el inicio de las obras del camino pionero» alongside the completion of the Pioneer Camp, and its general manager placed the final road in 2027.
High-voltage power line and substations connecting the project to the national interconnected system
PowerThe province's power system: it is transmission infrastructure and, unlike the plant, it is not locked inside the deposit.
The feasibility study values it at some USD 440 million and leaves it out of the capital estimate because YPF Luz builds it at no cost to the miner, in exchange for a long-term renewable power agreement. ⚠️ THE ROUTE IS NOT SETTLED: three descriptions coexist and none can be chosen yet — the connection to the Calingasta node that the company declared before the national regulator, a 132 kV line from Calingasta to the mine with a new substation, and an alternative route through Mendoza that the company activated after Resolución 330/2026 of the ENReGE gave Vicuña priority over the 500 kV Nueva San Juan-Rodeo corridor. Its environmental impact declaration is a separate file from the mine's, with a public hearing on 27 August 2026.
The plant and its facilities: leach pads, solvent extraction and electrowinning plant, sulfuric acid plant, crushing and agglomeration, permanent camp and the logistics activities zone. No tailings dam
ProductiveThe mine's operation. It is the owner's infrastructure, not for public use, and its closure already has a budgeted cost.
The feasibility study defines the plant with a nominal capacity of 215,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year and a design maximum of 240,000, produces Grade A cathodes directly on site without smelting, contemplates no tailings dam in the base case and budgets mine closure at USD 386 million within the project's life.
- What it already pays in taxes and royalties — We have not broken down this project’s local fiscal contribution: the primary source that sets each item still has to be opened, and an act of the State is not published on press backing.
- 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
EX-2025-75387730- -APN-SCEYM#MEC verif Oct 14, 2025 ↗
Sep 25, 2025 verif Oct 14, 2025 ↗
The act’s articles, in detail
4 facts on the commitment
61,1 % of the amount earmarked for suppliers that goes to LOCAL suppliers verif Oct 14, 2025 ↗
The entire investment amount earmarked for paying suppliers, goods and infrastructure works, during the construction and operation stages verif Oct 14, 2025 ↗
31 December 2027 to complete the minimum investment amount. verif Dec 31, 2027 ↗
Andes Corporación Minera S.A. (ACM SA), tax ID 30-70952278-3. verif Oct 14, 2025 ↗
What we could not confirm
There are 4 in this project. Each says why it could not be confirmed and what it would take to close it.
H-01How many people the construction employs and how many the mine’s operation does+
Resolución 1553/2025 does not publish employment, and the report that made the admission official gives a single combined figure («more than 3,500 jobs, direct and indirect»). A split of more than 2,000 construction workers and 1,000 in operation circulates, attributed to the environmental impact report for the exploitation stage, but none of the pages repeating it could be opened to read it first-hand.
H-02Who is building the final access road, the construction camps and the power line — the three big packages of 2026 and 2027+
The company published the ORDER of the tenders but not the bid documents or the awards, and it contracts those packages directly, with no gazette or portal where they are recorded. The only thing awarded and published in the industrial core is the engineering of the process equipment; the contractor managing that part is only chosen in the fourth quarter of 2026. This is a gap of access, not of existence.
H-03How many kilometres the access road has and where the power line will run+
For the road there is an amount — USD 93.6 million in the initial capex — and there is a status, but no route or kilometres. For the line, three descriptions coexist and nobody reconciles them: the connection to the Calingasta node that the company declared before the national regulator, a 132 kV line from Calingasta with a new substation, and the alternative route through Mendoza activated after the setback of July 2026. The feasibility study publishes neither voltage nor route.
H-04Whether the public hearing of 27 August 2026 was held and what was decided+
What was read is the CALL, not the outcome. The date has passed and no open source has published what happened or whether the environmental impact declaration for the link was granted.
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