12:02 PM EDT, 09/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Lundin Mining ( LUNMF ) early Monday said Vicuna, a 50/50 joint arrangement between the company and BHP that holds the consolidated deposits of Filo del Sol and Josemaria, appointed Ron Hochstein as chief executive, effective Nov. 7.

Hochstein stepped down as the CEO of Lundin Gold ( LUGDF ) Thursday after 10 years of service.

The company said Dave Dicaire will continue to serve as general manager of Vicuna, reporting to the CEO while maintaining responsibility for the integrated design, execution plan, and overall development of the Vicuna Project.

National Bank of Canada maintained its outperform rating and target price of C$17.50 on Lundin Mining ( LUNMF ) and said that it views this appointment as "positive given the experience of delivering mines on time and on budget." It added that Vicuna accounts for 29% of its net asset value and an integrated technical report is targeted to be complete by early 2026.

"We believe the market continues to discount the value of Lundin's 50% interest in the Vicuna JV despite the large scale, world-class nature of the deposit," said analyst Shane Nagle. "BHP has a history of developing world-class assets in a staged approach (Escondida) and with the significant precious metal endowment, we do not foresee difficulty in securing necessary funding for the initial Phase of development, even assuming elevated initial capital/infrastructure costs to support future expansions."

"With Lundin expected to end the year with effectively no net debt, the Company remains in a strong financial position ahead of any significant capital deployment in Argentina to advance a disciplined/staged development of Filo del Sol/Josemaria," Nagle added.

Shares of Lundin Mining ( LUNMF ) were last seen up 2.1% at $16.74 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Price: 16.73, Change: +0.34, Percent Change: +2.07