Investments by European automaker Stellantis NV and mining giant Rio Tinto Group are giving Rob McEwen’s copper venture more breathing space before going public.

The Canadian entrepreneur now expects to hold an initial public offering for his namesake copper unit in the second half of the year instead of the first half. That’s after Stellantis and a Rio unit each took a 14.2 per cent stake in McEwen Copper, providing enough funding for its Argentine project until next year.

“It gives us a lot of additional flexibility depending on what the market is doing,” Michael Meding, who leads the unit, said in an interview alongside McEwen while attending an industry event in Florida.

Stellantis’ entry into McEwen Copper’s shareholder register represents the first major equity investment by a carmaker in a copper company, according to McEwen, the founder of Goldcorp Inc.

If the high attendance of auto executives at this week’s BMO Capital Markets mining event is any measure, it won’t be the last. The auto industry is stepping up efforts to secure supplies of the materials needed to move away from fossil fuels. General Motors Co. is said to be vying for a stake in Vale SA’s base metals unit as Tesla Inc. weighs a takeover of Sigma Lithium Corp.

The transaction with Stellantis gives the maker of Peugeot cars and Jeep sport utility vehicles the right to a portion of future production from the Los Azules deposit in Argentina’s San Juan province. If all goes to plan, the project will start producing in 2028, giving Argentina a source of copper cathode for local industries, Meding said. He expects to file for environmental permits in April.

In terms of the size of the copper unit’s IPO, McEwen said it will be determined by capital needs and ensuring enough of a free float for liquid trading. He expects the offering to take parent company McEwen Mining Inc.’s holding in the unit below the 50 per cent threshold.