Los Andes Copper
Los Andes Copper Ltd. is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration and development company advancing the 100%-owned Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum porphyry project in Chile, a pre-revenue single-asset developer listed on TSX-V (LA) and OTCQX (LSANF).
- Company typePublic
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersVancouver, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Los Andes Copper does
Los Andes Copper Ltd. is a Vancouver-based, British Columbia-incorporated mineral exploration and development company whose entire corporate purpose is the advancement of a single asset: the 100%-owned Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum porphyry project located 150 kilometers north of Santiago, Chile. The company was established in 2007, is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker LA and on OTCQX under LSANF, and operates from offices in Vancouver (corporate headquarters), London (European investor relations), and Santiago (Chilean operations, through wholly-owned subsidiary Compañía Minera Vizcachitas Holding). Vizcachitas is described as one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the Americas not controlled by a major, with Measured & Indicated Resources of 14.801 billion pounds CuEq, Inferred Resources of 15.444 billion pounds CuEq, and Proven & Probable Reserves of 1.22 billion tonnes at 0.36% Cu.
The Vizcachitas Project is designed as a conventional open-pit mine with a 26-year life, 136,000 t/day throughput, and a strip ratio of 1.54:1 in the first eight years; the 2023 Pre-Feasibility Study (prepared by Tetra Tech Sudamericana) projects 183,017 t/yr average copper production for the first 8 years and 152,883 t/yr LOM, with by-product molybdenum (273.3M lbs LOM) and silver (32.7M oz LOM). Planned processing flowsheet incorporates three-stage crushing with High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) targeting P80 of 240 microns, froth flotation concentration, and dry-stacked filtered tailings at 15% cake moisture; supporting infrastructure includes a desalinated water supply under LOI with Desala Petorca SPA and a 28-30 MW run-of-river hydroelectric project at Rocin SpA (with Icafal Inversiones). The PFS values the asset at US$2.776B post-tax NPV (8% discount) and 24% IRR on US$3.68/lb Cu, US$12.9/lb Mo, US$21.79/oz Ag assumptions, with US$2.441B initial CAPEX, a 2.5-year payback, and an all-in sustaining margin of 44%.
The company is pre-revenue and does not yet sell copper; its "business model" today is capital raising and project advancement rather than commodity sales. Capital has been sourced through non-brokered private placements (e.g., 2014 C$2.1M, 2018 US$8.8M with Resource Capital Fund VI), three tranches of 8% convertible debentures with Queen's Road Capital totaling US$14M (2021-2022, all subsequently converted), a C$10M BMO/Paradigm bought deal in January 2023, and a US$20M royalty agreement with Ecora Resources PLC in July 2023 (0.25% NSR open pit / 0.125% NSR underground). Existing NSR burdens total 2% open pit and 1% underground. Capital is directed at feasibility-study work, drilling, permitting (via ERM), and corporate overhead; the company maintains an 11-50 headcount, a sales-led institutional and mining-focused investor relations function (webcasts, conferences including LME Week, press releases, analyst coverage by Cantor Fitzgerald, Hannam & Partners, and Paradigm), and a CEO transition pipeline that moved from R. Michael Jones (Oct 2021) to Santiago Montt (Nov 2022 interim, May 2023 permanent) to Antony Amberg as Interim CEO from January 2026 following Montt's departure to become Chile's Mining Minister.
Los Andes Copper firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Los Andes Copper
- Legal name
- Los Andes Copper Ltd.
- Website
- https://losandescopper.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Los Andes Copper Ltd. is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration and development company advancing the 100%-owned Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum porphyry project in Chile, a pre-revenue single-asset developer listed on TSX-V (LA) and OTCQX (LSANF).
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Los Andes Copper industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Copper-Molybdenum Mining
- NAICS
- Copper, Nickel, Lead, and Zinc Mining (212230)
- SIC
- Metal Mining (1000), Miscellaneous Metal Ores (1090)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Copper Exploration & Resource Development (IMAKADAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Copper Ore Mining (Open-Pit & Underground) (IMAKADAB), Copper By-Products Recovery (Molybdenum, Gold/Silver, Sulfuric Acid) (IMAKADAH), Copper Concentration (Crushing, Grinding, Flotation) (IMAKADAC)
Keywords
Where Los Andes Copper is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vancouver
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Los Andes Copper business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Copper Production and Sales: Primary revenue stream from production and sale of copper concentrate and molybdenum concentrate. The PFS projects average annual copper production of 183,017 tonnes in first 8 years at C1 cash costs of $0.93/lb. Life of mine of 26 years producing 8.763 billion lbs copper, 273.3 million lbs molybdenum, and 32.7 million oz silver.
- Royalty Obligations: Company pays royalties to underlying royalty holders including Ecora Resources (0.25% NSR open pit, 0.125% NSR underground), plus existing NSRs of 2% for open pit and 1% for underground operations.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Los Andes Copper product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Los Andes Copper is a pre-revenue mineral exploration and development company advancing the 100%-owned Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum porphyry project in Chile. The project is designed as a conventional open-pit mine with a 26-year life targeting average annual production of 183,017 tonnes of copper, along with molybdenum and silver by-products. Once operational, the company will sell copper and molybdenum concentrate to global smelters and commodity traders.
Product overview
Los Andes Copper is a mining exploration and development company focused on a single core asset: the Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum project in Chile. The company does not operate a platform-plus-modules architecture or offer multiple products; its entire value proposition centers on developing this one world-class copper deposit. The project represents Chile's next major copper mine, positioned along the country's most prolific copper belt.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use Los Andes Copper
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Los Andes Copper technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Los Andes Copper partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and minor.
- ERMstrategicLeading global sustainability consulting firm engaged to conduct strategic analysis of the licensing process for Vizcachitas Project and define required baseline studies. ERM operates in Latin America since 1990s with 7 regional offices.
- Tetra Tech Sudamérica S.A.strategicLeading international engineering firm engaged as independent technical consultant for Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) and NI 43-101 Technical Report. Prepared the 2023 PFS demonstrating US$2.77 billion post-tax NPV and 24% IRR.
- Icafal Inversiones S.A.minorInvestment subsidiary of Icafal S.A., leading Chilean engineering and construction conglomerate. Invested US$7.5 million in subsidiary for hydroelectric facility development (28-30 MW expected capacity) on Rocin River. Entitled to 36.3% interest after total investment.
- Cantor FitzgeraldminorFinancial analyst coverage. Analyst: Mike Kozak, email: [email protected]
- Hannam & PartnersminorFinancial analyst coverage. Analyst: Roger Bell, email: [email protected]
- Paradigm CapitalminorFinancial analyst coverage. Analyst: David Davidson, email: [email protected]
- Desala Petorca SPAstrategicDesalinated water supply company providing water supply for the Vizcachitas Project via letter of intent. Removes need for continental water use in drought-affected area. Plan includes preferential water rates for community groups along pipeline route.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Los Andes Copper competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Antofagasta PLC: Major Chilean copper producer operating Los Pelambres, Centinela, and Antucoya. Provides benchmark for what a fully-developed Chilean copper asset at scale looks like; potential acquirer of Vizcachitas.
- Capstone Copper: Mid-tier copper producer operating mines in Chile (Mantos Blancos, Mantoverde) and recently acquired Coppernico Metals. Broad incumbent in Chilean copper space with operational cash flow that Los Andes aspires to.
- First Quantum Minerals: Major copper producer with Chilean operations (Cobre Panamá notwithstanding, and Tía María/Kra Pana projects). Major global copper developer with track record of acquiring and advancing large-scale copper projects.
- Lundin Mining: Mid-tier diversified miner with significant copper production from Chile (Caserones) and Candelaria. Established Chilean copper incumbent and indirect peer via investor overlap (Lundin family is also a key Filo Corp backer).
Direct peers
- Filo Corp: Copper-gold-silver developer with the Filo del Sol project on the Chile-Argentina border. Comparable single-asset, large-scale copper porphyry development with major-miner backing (BHP, Lundin).
- Taseko Mines: Mid-tier copper producer/developer with Florence Copper and Gibraltar operations. Comparable copper-focused company at similar development stage with North American listing.
- Solaris Resources: Copper developer advancing the Warintza copper porphyry project in Ecuador. Comparable as a single-asset copper porphyry developer at PFS/preliminary stage with strong institutional sponsorship.
- NGEx Minerals: Canadian-listed copper-gold developer with the Los Helados project in Chile/Argentina. Most directly comparable to Los Andes given similar South American porphyry copper-gold resource, single-asset focus, and PFS-stage development profile.
- SolGold: Copper-gold porphyry explorer/developer focused on the Cascabel project in Ecuador. Similar single-asset, large-scale porphyry copper-gold development model with major-miner backing (BHP, Newcrest).
- Hot Chili: Copper-gold developer advancing the Costa Fuego project in Chile. Directly comparable Chilean copper developer with similar scale, single-asset focus, and PFS-stage economics.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Los Andes Copper social profiles
Digital presenceLos Andes Copper financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Los Andes Copper leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Los Andes Copper subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Los Andes Copper funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Los Andes Copper M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Los Andes Copper
What does Los Andes Copper do?
Los Andes Copper is a pre-revenue mineral exploration and development company advancing the 100%-owned Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum porphyry project in Chile. The project is designed as a conventional open-pit mine with a 26-year life targeting average annual production of 183,017 tonnes of copper, along with molybdenum and silver by-products. Once operational, the company will sell copper and molybdenum concentrate to global smelters and commodity traders.
Is Los Andes Copper a public or private company?
Los Andes Copper is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Los Andes Copper founded?
Los Andes Copper was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Los Andes Copper based?
Los Andes Copper is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Los Andes Copper make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Copper Production and Sales are the primary driver. The others are royalty Obligations.
Who are Los Andes Copper's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Antofagasta PLC, Capstone Copper, First Quantum Minerals and Lundin Mining. Direct peers are Filo Corp, Taseko Mines, Solaris Resources, NGEx Minerals, SolGold and Hot Chili.
Does Los Andes Copper have an API?
No public API is recorded for Los Andes Copper.
What industry is Los Andes Copper in?
Los Andes Copper's product category is Copper-Molybdenum Mining. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAKADAA, Copper Exploration & Resource Development, with a secondary code of IMAKADAB, Copper Ore Mining (Open-Pit & Underground). Its NAICS code is 212230 and its SIC code is 1000.