Mining News - May 2022

Legislative News

Decree N° 934 published in the official gazette of Catamarca on April 29, 2022.

This Decree incorporates Sections 54 bis and 54 ter to Law N° 5734 (Tax Law for Fiscal Year 2022) whereby the Collection Agency of Catamarca is authorized, through the General Revenues Directorate, to collect, determine and supervise funds from mining royalties, fees and other public revenues under the responsibility of other agencies of the Provincial Government, as well as to issue regulations for this purpose.

Although Law 5734 should become effective on May 1, 2022, the amendment of Section 17 empowers the Executive Directorate of the Collection Agency of Catamarca to extend such date, without exceeding a period of 60 working days.

 

Mining in the media

“Argentina, fifth in ranking of the most attractive regions for investment” Article published by Bloomberg Línea on 04/26/2022.

A survey from the Fraser Institute ranked Argentina as the fifth most attractive region in the world for mining investment in an index based on geological criteria, mining practices and public policy perceptions. In addition, the province of San Juan shows up as the most attractive jurisdiction in all Latin America.

Argentine provinces such as San Juan and Salta perform particularly well in the Latin American context, ranking first and third respectively, out of the 20 jurisdictions rated in Latin America.

Likewise, a report from the National Directorate of Mining Promotion and Economy of the National Ministry of Productive Development, published in January 2022, analyzes the period between January 2020 and December 2021 and highlights that San Juan leads the ranking of investment announcements in the country with 55.6% of the total, followed by Salta with 26.5%.

“Mining: Yamana presented results and plans for its projects in Catamarca and Santa Cruz” Article published by Ámbito on 05/04/2022.

Yamana Gold, a Canadian Mining Company, presented its results for the first quarter of 2022 and confirmed its expansion plans for the MARA Project in Catamarca and Cerro Moro Mine in Santa Cruz.

As detailed by the company in a press release, the MARA Project of gold and copper was born as a result of the combination between Agua Rica oilfield and Bajo La Alumbrera’s facilities. A total investment of USD 4,049 million will be made over the next few years.

A USD 2,996 million investment is expected until 2026, generating more than 3,500 new jobs. But during the mine's exploitation, an additional USD 1,098 million will be disbursed, creating another 1,000 permanent jobs.

“Argentina is on its way to become one of the world's lithium producers” Article published by Télam on 05/04/2022.

The Productive Development Minister pointed out that the lithium sector plans investments for more than USD 4,200 million and that Argentina could become one of the top three world producers with the development of this activity.

“The most important mining investment in the country begins in San Juan” Article published by Página 12 on 04/14/2022.

With an investment of USD 4.1 billion, the "Josemaría" copper and gold project  positioned the province of San Juan at the top of the country's mining investment ranking.

Last week, San Juan’s Governor granted approval to the Company’s  Environmental Impact Report, the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that allows the company to begin operations in order to transform the project into a producing mine.

“Santa Cruz gold represented 64.4% of the national exports” Article published by La Opinión Austral on 05/01/2022.

Santa Cruz is the largest producer and exporter of gold and silver in Argentina.  In March, gold exports showed their highest value since 2015, with USD 229.4 million, 64.4% (in value) of which resulted from exploitations in the province of Santa Cruz. These values were also 78.4% higher than those recorded in the third month of 2021.

According to the monthly report published by the National Ministry of Productive Development, such value increase is explained by the 52.8% rise in the exported quantities, boosted by the slight rise in the international reference price.

In March, all mining exports from the country reached USD 344.4 million, achieving a record monthly high since 2015.  

This shows mining is advancing, positioning itself as one of the most promising productive activities capable of generating foreign currency for the country.