SAN JUAN, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Canada's Aldebaran

Resources ( ADBRF ) will require at least $1.5 billion to develop its

Altar copper project in northern Argentina, country manager

Javier Robeto said in an interview.

The company plans to include the figure in its preliminary

economic assessment in September, which will show that Altar

holds about 32 billion pounds of copper resources and 6.7

million ounces of gold resources, Robeto said.

Aldebaran is unsure it will be ready to deploy the spending

in time to qualify for a government incentives program known as

RIGI, which offers lengthy tax breaks and access to

international dispute courts for investments exceeding $200

million.

The scheme will accept applications through July 2026, with

a potential one-year extension.

"It's not certain we'll make it. It's a challenge because if

the RIGI is cut off, what happens next? The tax burden

automatically returns to 54%," Robeto said.

So far only two mining projects, both in lithium, have been

approved for RIGI, which went into effect in October under

President Javier Milei.

Among other copper projects in the works, miners Glencore

and McEwen Mining are also applying for the program.

Robeto did not provide a potential timeline for construction

and production at Altar, which has an estimated lifespan of 20

to 25 years. The economic assessment will include two scenarios

for copper production, either in concentrate or cathode form.

"The idea would be to conduct a trade-off analysis, looking

at the pros and cons," Robeto said.