SAN JUAN, Argentina, Aug 5 (Reuters) - BHP and

Lundin plan to soon apply for a new Argentine

investment incentives scheme for their Vicuna copper project,

but other miners fear they may get left out before the program's

cut-off date a year from now, executives said at a mining

conference this week.

Argentina's Large Investment Incentive Regime, or RIGI, which

went into effect in October under President Javier Milei, offers

lengthy tax breaks and access to international dispute courts

for investments exceeding $200 million. It will be in place

through July 2026 with a possible one-year extension.

Mining companies celebrated the measure as much-needed

assurance to move ahead with copper projects in a volatile

economy with restrictive capital controls, giving the sector its

first big boost in decades.

Jose Morea, who leads BHP and Lundin's Vicuna project, said

the two companies plan to announce the project's expected

investment early next year.

Speaking on Tuesday at the Argentina Copper 2025 conference

in San Juan province, where most of Argentina's copper projects

are concentrated, Morea said Vicuna would file an application in

the "short term" for some of the investment to receive benefits

under RIGI.

But other copper projects are in the early exploration stages,

such as Aldebaran Resources' Altar, and are not ready to start

heavy spending that could qualify for RIGI. Altar aims to

present a preliminary economic assessment in September, said

Javier Roberto, the head of Altar in Argentina.

"How do we manage projects that are a bit behind and face a

closing RIGI window - even assuming the national executive

grants an extension and we reach June 2027?" Roberto said.

Only two mining projects have received RIGI benefits so far,

both in lithium. Only one copper project, McEwen Mining's Los

Azules, has applied for the program.

Executives pointed to the uncertainty around Argentina's glacier

preservation law as another potential investment obstacle

because they said much of the legislation is open to

interpretation.

"We need a decree that tells us exactly what's allowed, what's

not, and what must be preserved," Roberto said.