Stellantis invests $155 million in Argentine copper mine

ROME (Reuters) - Carmaker Stellantis said on Monday it had 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% stake in McEwen Copper, a subsidiary of Canada's McEwen Mining, which owns the Los Azules project in Argentina.

The $155-million investment will make Stellantis the second-largest shareholder in McEwen Copper along with Rio Tinto, it said in a statement.

Los Azules plans to produce 100,000 tons per year of cathode copper, a key component for car batteries, at 99.9% purity starting in 2027, the carmaker 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% of its European passenger carsales and 50% of its U.S. passenger car and light-duty trucksales to be battery 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.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini; Editing by David Gregorio)