Stellantis will invest $155 million in Canada-based McEwen Copper to secure access to Argentine cathode copper supply from 2027, Kallanish reports.

The European carmaker is acquiring a 14.2% equity stake in the company, a subsidiary of Canadian miner McEwen Mining. It will become the second-largest shareholder in McEwen Copper, owner of the Los Azules project in Argentina and the Elder Creek project in Nevada, US.

The copper project in the pro-mining San Juan province is one of the world’s largest undeveloped high grade open pit copper projects. Current indicated resources are estimated at 10.2 billion pounds at a grade of 0.48% copper; inferred resources stand at 19.3 billion pounds at a grade of 0.33% copper. McEwen Copper is planning to produce 100,000 tonnes/year of cathode coper at 99.9% purity starting in 2027, with operations set to last at least 33 years.  

Stellantis’ ceo Carlos Tavares says the investment in the Los Azules project will secure some of the company’s projected copper demand. The red metal is crucial for electrification, which in turn is essential for Stellantis’ plan to become carbon net-zero by 2038.

“We are taking important steps in Argentina and Brazil, with the aim of decarbonising mobility and ensuring strategic supplies of raw materials necessary for the success of the company’s global electrification plans,” he says, without elaborating further.

Under its Dare Forward 2030 strategy, Stellantis targets 100% passenger car electric vehicle sales mix in Europe and a 50% car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the US by 2030. In Brazil, the company is targeting 20% of “low emission vehicle” (LEV) sales mix by the end of the decade.

Rio Tinto, through its joint venture Nuton, is also a shareholder in Los Azules.