Argentina’s Taca Taca Copper Project Needs $5.25 Billion Before Seeking Incentives

Key Facts

First Quantum Minerals estimated total development capital for its Taca Taca project in Argentina at about $5.25 billion as it completes its application to join the Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI). In its second-quarter 2026 results update, the company said it plans to submit the application after approval of the environmental impact study and the granting of water-use concessions. That leaves the copper, gold and molybdenum project facing two regulatory milestones before it can seek the incentives. Under Argentina’s legal framework, the regime offers investors incentives and legal, tax and customs stability. The company has not said that it has submitted an application or received any incentives.

The capital estimate covers the initial design, with processing capacity of 40 million tonnes a year, followed by an expansion that adds $1.019 billion in spending and lifts capacity to 60 million tonnes a year. According to the company’s technical report, the expansion begins in the fifth year of operations. Estimated capital for the initial phase is $4.232 billion, before the additions required for the expansion. The cost estimates are based on an engineering study conducted from the fourth quarter of 2024 to late in the second quarter of 2025. The company said capital estimates have an accuracy range of +20% and -10%, leaving room for costs to change as design and execution advance.

Under the current plan, over a mine life of 35 years, average annual production is expected to reach 209,000 tonnes of copper and 96,000 ounces of gold. The technical report estimated after-tax net present value at a discount rate of 8% at about $5.917 billion, with an after-tax internal rate of return of 19.3% and a payback period of 9 years. These metrics reflect the price assumptions in the company’s presentation and do not guarantee future returns. First Quantum owns the entire project, located in Salta province in northwestern Argentina. The site sits at an elevation of 3,500 metres, about 230 kilometres west of the city of Salta and 55 kilometres east of the Chilean border.

The company is seeking to complete environmental and water approvals before moving to submit the application, while a July update said approval of the environmental and mining impact study was expected during 2026 after public consultations were completed. In a February presentation, the company had expected environmental approvals and the water permit in the first half of 2026. In April, the Secretariat of Water Resources issued a hydrological feasibility certificate allowing sufficient water to be supplied for the first phase. But converting the certificate into a water concession remains conditional on environmental approval, according to the company. First Quantum says the RIGI application and multiple financing options are among the steps to reduce project risk before an investment decision.

Argentine law gives eligible projects in sectors including mining a basic period of two years to join RIGI, with one extension of up to a year permitted. The government extended the deadline by a year from July 8, 2026, making July 8, 2027, the expiry date under the decree. This comes as the company continues to complete its application and awaits the approvals it says must precede submission. In March, Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said the project was expected to provide 4,000 jobs during construction and 2,000 during operations. Those figures are the minister’s estimates for the project, while permitting, financing and an investment decision remain ahead for the company.

In the market, the average cash copper price on the London Metal Exchange was $6.05 a pound in the second quarter of 2026, compared with $4.32 in the same period of 2025. The increase provides context for the company’s assessment of the project’s economics, but does not represent a guaranteed price over the mine’s life. The published capital estimates come from the technical report, which the company said was an important step in preparing its RIGI application and assessing future financing options. The next announced steps remain environmental approval and the water concession, followed by submission of the application and determination of the financing structure. The statutory deadline to join remains open until July 8, 2027, under the government extension.