First Quantum Executives Spoke with Salta Press and Provided Details about Taca Taca

On Wednesday, August 28th, at the Sheraton Hotel, a group of executives from First Quantum Minerals (FQM), led by John Dean, met with a group of journalists to provide all the details about the project that the Canadian mining company has in Salta. Taca Taca is a copper, gold, and molybdenum project with a planned investment of $3.6 billion.

John Dean is the General Manager of the Taca Taca Project. Since joining First Quantum Minerals (FQM) in 2011, he has held various leadership roles in mining operations and development projects in Argentina, Panama, Mauritania, and Zambia. The representative of the Canadian mining company came to the province to share details on how FQM's operations in Salta will finally bring the copper project to fruition.

At the beginning of his presentation, the General Manager highlighted that First Quantum's primary focus is copper. "We are miners who build new projects, who build new mines. We are not 'coffee miners'; we are copper miners. Our future is growth, and we will continue growing in our business. Our next project is Taca Taca, in Argentina, in Salta, which is finally becoming possible," the executive emphasized.

FQM purchased the project in 2014, and since then, the mining company has advanced feasibility studies, while also maintaining dialogue with the national and provincial governments regarding the significant investors that a project like Taca Taca requires.

"Stability is needed, a legal and fiscal framework that is very stable and secure for the long term, and that now exists. We are excited about the future of mineral resources in Argentina, and our first project is Taca Taca. The people in the city and the province need to know that First Quantum is a company that will protect their resources. We will take care of their resources, and we will be responsible," he highlighted.

They clarified that within FQM’s framework, the first step is working with the communities, something they have been doing for some time. "Our priority is to maintain the social license of the project. We understand the importance of working on social issues, and we will focus first on working with our communities," they remarked.

The second point is generating local employment. They want it to be a project "built and operated by people from Salta." "We know we cannot wait until construction begins to start work, so we are coordinating with both authorities and institutions to begin developing the personnel that will be part of our team when we kick off the project. And the third point is the development of suppliers. We understand that this is also another key component that contributes to the sustainability of a mining project," they noted.

Incentive Regime for Large Investments Less than a week ago, the Canadian company expressed its intention to join the Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI) for its Taca Taca copper project. This was confirmed by the Ministry of Production of the Province of Salta, following a recent meeting with company executives.

The mining company is reportedly planning a three-phase approach, each with a specific financing plan. “During the meeting, we analyzed the work related to technical evaluations, and we committed to a work agenda that would allow us to unify criteria and move forward with the project,” representatives from the ministry, led by Martín de los Ríos, said.

Expectations for the Mega Copper Project The Taca Taca project plans to exploit copper in Salta for approximately 40 years. It is expected to hire more than 4,000 local workers during the plant construction period in the Puna region and another 2,800 for the actual mining operations. Undoubtedly, this will have a significant labor and economic impact on the province.

Taca Taca is a high-potential copper, gold, and molybdenum porphyry deposit located in Argentina’s Puna region, specifically in the province of Salta, 230 km west of the capital city and 55 km east of the Chilean border.

In 2014, the Canadian company First Quantum acquired 100% of Taca Taca from Lumina Copper Corporation through its subsidiary, Corriente Argentina SA (CASA).