Mining News - July 2026

Legislative News


Provision 150 of the Secretariat of State for Mining of Santa Cruz, published in the Official Gazette of Santa Cruz on July 7, 2026

It establishes the obligation for all companies holding mining rights—and their operators, contractors and subcontractors—to report notifiable incidents to the Secretariat of Mining, as a complement to the provisions of articles 240 and 241 of the Argentine Mining Code.

The Dispositiont defines a “notifiable incident” as “any undesired event occurring in connection with or arising from work and linked to mining activity that causes or could cause consequences for the health or safety of persons, including deaths, injuries, illnesses, high-potential events and dangerous incidents.”

Likewise, it approves the Mining Safety Incident Management Protocol (included as Annex I to the regulation), the purpose of which is to establish the criteria to notify and classify incidents, the procedures applicable in such situations, and the investigation and follow-up mechanisms for notifiable mining safety incidents occurring within activities subject to the control of the mining authority. The protocol establishes that notifications must be made through the fastest available means.
 

Law 10876 of the Chamber of Deputies of the Province of La Rioja, published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja on July 7, 2026

It ratifies the provisions of Provincial Law 3468, thus rejecting the interprovincial boundaries with San Juan established by Federal Law 19004, enacted in 1968.

Likewise, it creates a Special Commission for the Study, Monitoring, and Interprovincial Territorial Delimitation to conduct a detailed study of the matter and instructs the Executive Branch to promote direct legal actions before the Argentine Supreme Court seeking a review of the validity of the federal law, and instructs the Attorney’s Office to request the preliminary injunctions appropriate to prevent the advancement of resource exploitation in the disputed areas until the substantive issue is resolved.

Provision 153 of the Secretariat of Mining of the Province of Santa Cruz, published in the Official Gazette of Santa Cruz on July 8, 2026
It establishes the implementation of participatory environmental monitoring programs with a minimum annual frequency, involving local stakeholders, workers and the Secretariat of Mining as the enforcement authority, covering surface and groundwater resources, among other components. The results must be public and included in an annual report incorporated into mine closure files.

Regarding ESG criteria, it requires applying circular economy principles, and measuring water footprint and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories with progressive reduction plans. In the social dimension, it requires gender-sensitive assessments, prevention of violence and harassment, and human rights due diligence. In the governance dimension, it establishes obligations relating to integrity, transparency, and information traceability.

Likewise, it creates an integrated reporting system that consolidates monitoring activities, environmental indicators, and social and governance aspects, with mandatory minimum indicators and a standardized format detailed in Annex I to the regulation.
 

Tax Ordinance CMS/26 of the Municipal Commune of Susques, published in the Official Gazette of Jujuy on July 13, 2026

It approves the commercial and industrial licensing regime and the safety inspection fee applicable to mining companies.
In particular, the municipal fee is limited exclusively to camps, offices, and auxiliary facilities located within the municipal jurisdiction (without extending to the mining deposit or the mining operation itself). It is charged only once per economic group as a bimonthly payment scheme calculated in UMS according to the company’s category (construction, exploration, or production) and workforce size.

Law 2728 of the Province of San Juan, published in the Official Gazette of San Juan on July 16, 2026

It establishes new obligations for mining projects in San Juan, including the submission and implementation of local employment and local supplier plans, which must be updated every two years and reported through sworn statements filed with the enforcement authority.

It specially requires:

(a) Local Employment Development Plan: Mining companies must submit a local employment development plan with progressive targets to achieve local worker participation equivalent to 80% of the annual average workforce associated with the project, including both direct employees and contractor personnel. The plan must be incorporated into the Environmental Impact Statement and updated together with updates to the Environmental Impact Report. The regulation also requires technical justification whenever it is not possible to hire local workers.

For the purposes of the law, local workers are distinguished between those belonging to the communities within the area of influence and those from the rest of the province. Likewise, it establishes an order of priority for hiring, which gives preference first to workers from areas of direct influence, then from areas of indirect influence, followed by workers from the rest of San Juan, then the rest of the country and, finally, foreign workers.

(b) Local Supplier Development Plan: Mining companies must submit a Local Supplier Development Plan with progressive targets to achieve participation equivalent to 60% of the annual amount of procurements and contracts related to the mining project. The law allows excluding from the calculation those procurements for which no local supply is available under reasonable conditions of quality, technical capacity, quantity, timeliness, or price, provided that such circumstance is duly justified.

(c) San Juan Mining Suppliers Registry (REPROMIN): It creates REPROMIN, a public registry intended to identify, register, classify, and certify local suppliers of goods, works, and services related to mining activity. Only procurements carried out with suppliers registered in REPROMIN and holding a valid certificate may be counted toward compliance with the local procurement targets established in the plans.

Furthermore, it appoints the Ministry of Mining of San Juan as the enforcement authority.

Finally, the law incorporates a monitoring and sanctions regime applicable to mining companies, contractors, and local suppliers in the event of breaches of the obligations established in it.

Resolution 500/2026 of the Mining Directorate of Mendoza, published in the Official Gazette of Mendoza on July 20, 2026

It approves the Protocol for Prior, Free, and Informed Consultation applicable to mining projects that may directly affect indigenous communities in the Province of Mendoza, pursuant to Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization and the Mendoza Mining Procedure Code.

The procedure includes notification to the holder of the mining rights and to the involved communities, the provision of accessible information regarding the project, the holding of an intercultural dialogue roundtable, the possibility of involving interpreters and other technical support, and a stage of internal deliberation by the communities, all of which culminates in the submission of a free and informed statement containing observations, objections or proposals.

The process concludes with a resolution issued by the enforcement authority that documents the proceedings and, where applicable, the agreements reached, while providing for monitoring mechanisms. The protocol clarifies that the absence of agreement does not prevent the authority from adopting the corresponding administrative decision, provided that it is duly justified and takes into account the observations made during the consultation.