Argentina copper venture hires RBC on $630M mine project

An Argentine copper venture controlled by Zonda Metals GmbH has appointed a unit of Royal Bank of Canada as an adviser as it weighs financing options for a $630 million copper-gold project in Mendoza province.

PSJ Cobre Mendosino will choose among the financing proposals it’s received in the coming months, under the advice of RBC Capital Markets, Fabian Gregorio, who heads the venture, told Bloomberg News on Wednesday.

The project, previously known as San Jorge, has applied to join Argentina’s investment incentive regime after securing environmental approval and as it finalizes engineering.

It would be a first for the wine-making province of Mendoza. If the revived venture — rejected 14 years ago — manages to navigate the remaining permitting and keep communities on side, it could pave the way for other projects to tap vast mineral potential in an area long seen as off limits to mining. It would also strengthen Argentina’s bid to become a new copper hub as the global wiring metal market tightens.

(By James Attwood)