Town sitting on £43m ‘gold mine’ as Javier Milei capitalises on treasure trove | World | News
Argentina’s radical president, Javier Milei, plans to take advantage of copper deposits to revive his country’s ailing economy.
The libertarian leader took power after November’s Argentine elections, vowing to drastically shrink the size of the state to combat hyperinflation.
But while Milei has succeeded in drastically reducing the country’s deficit, Argentinas’s economy has contracted sharply and many has been pushed further into poverty.
But, a few miles from the border with Chile lies Los Azules – one of the world’s biggest copper deposits. The resource could hand Argentina an economic lifeline.
Goldman Sachs has described copper and the “new oil” as it is in high demand due to its high electrical conductivity.
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This makes the material crucial for eco-friendly technology such as electric cars.
However, Milei will need to attract foreign investment to extract the copper.
Marcelo Awad, the former chief executive of mining giant Antofagasta, told Bloomberg this year that Milei will no doubt try and exploit the copper deposits to help the Argentine economy.
He said: “I think Argentina will now become a huge rival to Chile,”
Rob McEwan, a Canadian mining tycoon who first invested in Los Azules copper deposit back in 2008, told the Telegraph: “Argentina is very well-endowed with natural resources but the country was poisoned by the policies of previous governments and put to sleep.
“Milei is the prince kissing sleeping beauty and waking her up.”
Michael Widmer, head of metals research at Bank of America, added: Miners are not spoilt for choice at the moment when it comes to projects.
“But they need that copper. So it means they’re much more willing to invest in destinations they wouldn’t have previously considered.”
Copper’s futures recently surged to $5.20, but are now down to $4.5 – or $10,000 a tonne.
Widmer believes they will need to jump to between $13,000 and $14,00 a tonne to win over investors.
Los Azules is expected to yield 400,000 pounds of copper annually and have a lifespan of 27 years, meaning the deposit could reap long-term benefits for Argentina. This means, the copper mine to net the country £1,575,200 ($2m) a year, and £42,530,400 over the 27 years.
