ROME — Stellantis has invested $155 million to buy a minority stake in a copper mine in Argentina as part of its global push to secure raw materials for electric-vehicle batteries.
The company acquired a 14.2 percent stake in McEwen Copper, a subsidiary of Canada’s McEwen Mining, which owns the Los Azules project in Argentina, the automaker said in a statement.
The $155-million investment will make Stellantis the second-largest shareholder in McEwen Copper along with Rio Tinto, it said.
Los Azules plans to produce 100,000 tons per year of cathode copper, a key component for car batteries, at 99.9 percent purity starting in 2027, the automaker said.
Stellantis, the world’s third-largest automotive group by sales, includes Italy’s Fiat and Alfa Romeo, France’s Peugeot and Citroen, and U.S. brands Jeep and Ram.
The group wants 100 percent of its European passenger car sales and 50 percent of its U.S. passenger car and light-duty truck sales to be full-electric vehicles by 2030.
In recent months, Stellantis has struck a series of accords to procure raw materials for electric batteries, including last month’s nickel sulphate supply deal with Finland’s Terrafame.