Vancouver-based Los Andes Copper Ltd. has entered into an agreement with Icafal Inversiones SA to develop and finance a 28-30 MW hydroelectric plant on the Rocin River in Chile.

Acting through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rocin SpA, Los Andes will incorporate a new subsidiary company to own, develop, build and operate the Rocin project.

Meanwhile, Icafal SA, parent company of Icafal Inversiones, has agreed to invest US$7.5 million into the subsidiary. $2 million of the investment will be used to finance the development of the plant, with the remainder to partially fund construction pending the project’s regulatory approvals. The investment also gives Icafal a 36.3% stake in the unnamed subsidiary.

Los Andes said it expects the development and construction of the Rocin project to take a maximum of four years to complete, at which point revenues generated by the plant will provide working capital for exploration and feasibility work at the company’s Vizcachitas mining operation.

The company acquired the non-consumptive water rights to the Rocin River this past August.