According to a report from Mining.com, Lundin Mining announced an updated resource estimate for its Filo del Sol project in the Atacama Region of Chile, confirming its potential as one of the world's largest copper-gold-silver deposits.
Previously owned by Canada's Filo Corp., the Filo del Sol project had only undergone a pre-feasibility study based on surface oxide ore resources. A 2023 technical report indicated that the oxide ore could be mined for 13 years, yielding an annual production of 66,000 mt of copper, 168,000 ounces of gold, and 9.26 million ounces of silver.
In this updated resource estimate, Lundin Mining estimated, for the first time, high-grade sulfide ore resources, with measured and indicated ore resources totaling 606 million mt at a copper equivalent grade of 1.14%, equivalent to 4.5 million mt of copper, 9.6 million ounces of gold, and 259 million ounces of silver. Additionally, the oxide ore resources increased to 434 million mt, with a copper grade of 0.34%, a gold grade of 0.28 g/mt, and a silver grade of 2.5 g/mt, equivalent to 1.5 million mt of copper, 3.9 million ounces of gold, and 35 million ounces of silver.
Jack Lundin, the company's CEO, praised Filo del Sol as "one of the largest greenfield discoveries in the past 30 years," with the potential to develop into "a world-class deposit."
After acquiring Filo Corp. last year, Lundin formed a 50-50 joint venture with BHP. Named Vicuña, the joint venture also includes Lundin's most advanced project, Josemaria, located 11 kilometers away in San Juan Province, Argentina. As part of the joint venture agreement, the two projects will be developed and constructed as an integrated mining complex.
Lundin also updated the resource estimate for the Josemaria project, with measured and indicated ore resources totaling 196 million mt at a copper equivalent grade of 0.73%, equivalent to 978,000 mt of copper, 2.4 million ounces of gold, and 11 million ounces of silver. A previously completed pre-feasibility study for the project indicated an annual production capacity of 136,000 mt of copper, 231,000 ounces of gold, and 1.16 million ounces of silver.
Together, these two projects will position Vicuña as one of the world's highest-grade open-pit copper projects and one of the largest gold and silver mines globally.
Compared to previous resource estimates, the total measured and indicated resources have increased by more than 29%, while the inferred resources have increased by 7.5 times. The company believes there is potential for further expansion of the Filo del Sol project's resources, with the entire resource area covering only 10 square kilometers.
Jack Lundin stated, "This updated resource estimate is a milestone that will serve as the basis for a comprehensive evaluation of the combined project, with the evaluation report expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026."
