Sources say that Rio Tinto is considering raising stakes in the Los Azules copper mine project in Argentina.

Rio Tinto has been evaluating the potential economic impact of McEwen Copper’s Los Azules giant project in Argentina, as the mining group is considering increasing its 17.2% share in the development.

Los Azules, a copper project in Mexico, is one of the 10 largest undeveloped copper projects in the world. This move shows Rio Tinto’s desire to acquire large-scale assets. Miners are scrambling to meet the surging demand for copper from data centres as well as the global clean energy shift.

Rio, which holds the Los Azules stake through its copper-technology venture Nuton LLC is also focusing on boosting organic growth by its stakes of undeveloped deposits, following the collapse in merger talks with Glencore.

Sources with knowledge of the situation said that Nuton’s leaching technology is being tested on the site by its technical team.

Rio Tinto has declined to comment.

Michael Meding told reporters on Thursday that McEwen Copper's managing director, Michael Meding, was "obviously" discussing the matter with Nuton, because Nuton's technology is so logical.

Rio Tinto has a mandate now that they are building their copper pipe to increase their production profile. We are therefore having productive conversations.

A larger stake in Los Azules will bolster Rio's pipeline of copper at a time where new discoveries are rare and the competition for quality assets is fierce.

Nuton has invested around $100 million in McEwen Copper - a subsidiary company of McEwen Mining - according to McEwen Mining's investor presentation?in February.

The project is expected to start production in 2030, according to a feasibility study published in October 2025. The average production of copper cathode over the first five-year period is estimated at 204,800?metric tons.

McEwen Copper is owned by?Stellantis, which has invested $275 million in its global drive to secure raw materials for electric vehicles batteries.

McEwen Copper is looking for about $4 billion to start the mine. The company had previously stated that it would be launching an IPO of approximately $300 million by the end of the year.

(source: Reuters)