They want to extract significant amounts of an extremely important raw material. This will change the market.

• Glencore aims to produce almost one million tonnes of copper per year at its planned El Pachon and Agua Rica projects in Argentina over the next 10-15 years.
• Argentina does not currently produce copper.
• However, several major manufacturers are proposing projects that could make the country a major global supplier.

As Reuters points out, Glencore recently applied to qualify its projects in Argentina for the government's investment incentive program , declaring that it will allocate $4 billion to the development of Agua Rica and $9.5 billion to the development of El Pachon.

Glencore Argentina CEO Martin Perez de Solay said he expects initial copper production of 500,000 tonnes per year from these projects and that El Pachon, in particular, is poised for a significant increase in production.

Glencore could produce close to a million tonnes of copper in Argentina within 10-15 years, said Martin Perez de Solay.

He did not provide a production start date but said he expected high prices before copper hits the market, with global demand likely to reach 35 million tonnes by 2035.

De Solay also noted that seven major projects in Argentina could produce two million tons of copper per year within 10 years, with investments ranging from $35 billion to $45 billion.

He estimated that mining could generate $20 billion annually in exports. As Reuters notes, Argentina has not mined copper since the closure of the Bajo de la Alumbrera mine in 2018.