Mining News - November, December 2022

Legislative news
 

Resolution No. 514/2022, Issued by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development on November 16, 2022.

Modifies the National Glacier Inventory (ING after its acronym in Spanish) by incorporating the debris glacier (G110), corresponding to the “Blanco Superior” sub-basin river (of the Jáchal basin river, in the provinces of San Juan, Catamarca and La Rioja).

Resolution No. 74/2022, published in the National Official Gazette on November 17, 2022.

It revokes Resolution No. 235 dated September 7, 2021 of the Mining Secretariat of the former Ministry of Productive Development, which provided the creation of the “Federal Mining Window” (VENFEM after its acronym in spanish) as an instrument to carry out all communications to the provincial authorities with competence in mining matters within the framework of the National Mining Plan, the Social Mining Plan, the Support Plan for Brickmakers, the Mining Footprints Plan, the Incentive Plan for Artisanal Mining, the Assistance Plan for Mining Small and Medium-sized Companies, the special promotion regime provided for in Law No. 24,196 on Mining Investments, and other regulations, with the purpose of improving the administrative procedures, reducing the time that affects the administered parties and eliminating regulations whose application generates unnecessary costs.

Resolution 84/2022 published in the National Official Gazette on November 29, 2022.

It creates the Federal Registry of Mining Suppliers (“Registry”) within the Secretariat of Mining of the Ministry of Economy. Individuals domiciled in Argentina and legal entities incorporated therein that, due to their activity or corporate purpose, offer goods, inputs or services, including those of technological innovation and knowledge economy, to companies that carry out mining activities, and/or to any company that carries out activities associated to the Mining Value Chain, may request the registration in this Registry. To apply for registration, they must comply with the requirements set forth in Annex I of said Registry.
It also creates the Federal Board of Mining Suppliers within the Undersecretariat of Mining Policy of the Secretariat of Mining, in which they will participate those registered in the Federal Registry of Mining Suppliers, representatives of the Secretariat of Mining, national and provincial agencies and national and provincial chambers related to the mining activity. The purpose of the Federal Board of Mining Suppliers will be to establish a permanent, participative, wide and federal space for dialogue and exchange among different actors of the mining activity and it will meet four times a year.

Law 27701 published in the National Official Gazette on December 1, 2022

It approved the budget of expenditures and resources of the National Administration for the period 2023. In particular, it amended the following sections of the Argentine Mining Code (“AMC”):

1. Section 31 (fourth paragraph) of the AMC, establishing, among other things, that the petitioner of the mining rights will pay, on a provisional basis, a fee of twenty-four pesos ($24) per square kilometer.
2. Section 213 of the AMC, establishing, among other things, that the amounts of the annual fee will be updated by resolution issued by the National Secretary of Mining, according to the interannual variation of the Consumer Price Index (IPC for its acronym in spanish) elaborated by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC after its acronym in Spanish).
3. Section 215 of the AMC, setting the annual fee scales as follows: (i) for substances of the first category and the ones listed in section 4 (a) of the AMC, as long as they are exploited in fixed establishments, one thousand nine hundred pesos (AR$ 1,900) per areas or unit of measurement; (ii) for substances of the second category, with the exception of those of section 4, paragraph (b), and those of paragraph (a) which are included previously in point (i) and are of common use, nine hundred and sixty pesos (AR$ 960) per area; (iii) for provisional concessions, for exploration permits (“cateos”) of substances of the first and second category, nine thousand six hundred and eighty pesos (AR$ 9,680) per unit of measurement or fraction; (iv) for mines whose ownership corresponds to the owner of the land, once transferred to a third party or registered by the owner, they shall pay on the same scale and form as in the preceding paragraphs, according to their category.
4. Section 219 (the second paragraph) of the AMC, which establishes that when the termination of the mining concession is ordered due to non-payment of the annual fee, the concessionaire will be notified, and will have a non-extendable term of forty-five (45) days to pay the updated annual fee due plus a surcharge of one hundred percent (100%), if the debt is not paid on time, the vacancy will automatically operate.
5. Section 221 of the AMC establishes that the concessionaires of mining holes (socavones) will pay an annual fee of nine hundred and sixty pesos (AR$960), in addition to the corresponding fee, for each new or abandoned mine property acquired, and in the cases of section 135 of the AMC, they will also pay a fee of four thousand eight hundred pesos (AR$4,800) for each 100 meters of surface declared as an exploration area on each side of the works.

Resolution 234/2022 published in the National Official Gazette on December 6, 2022 - Ministry of Economy:

Through this Resolution the Secretariat of Knowledge Economy of the Nation upgrades the regulation of the Investment Promotion Regime for Exports of Knowledge Economy Activities, created by Decree 679/2022 at the beginning of October.

By means of this, the Ministry of Economy sets the conditions for the application of the benefit provided for in the aforementioned decree for direct investments in infrastructure, capital goods and working capital aimed at favoring the development of activities of the knowledge economy and exports, as well as promoting different sectors of the economy that it considers essential for the entry of dollars into the country, such as: energy, mining and the countryside.

Decree No. 1494 published in the Official Gazette of Santa Cruz on December 13, 2022.

Approves the regulation of Provincial Law No. 3751 “Closure of Mines in the Province of Santa Cruz”.

Resolution No. 196/2022 published in the Official Gazette of Salta on December 14, 2022.

Updates and establishes from January 1, 2023, the value of the fixed fee for all third category mineral quarries in the Province, in the annual amount of one thousand nine hundred and forty-five pesos (AR$ 1,945), per hectare or fraction.

Resolution No. 197 published in the Official Gazette of Salta on December 19, 2022.

It establishes that as from January 1, 2023, companies that carry out activities described in Article 249 of the Mining Code that have authorized camps must have a housing module exclusively for the control and inspection authorities and provide inspectors with the equipment or personal protection elements required for inspection purposes.

Provincial Law No. 5796 – Decree No. 3542 published in the Official Gazette of Catamarca on December 20, 2022.

“Tax Law for the Fiscal Year 2023”. Article 41 establishes that the following fees shall be paid for the services provided by the Ministry of Mines and its departments: (i) for the request for mine exploration and staking: 15,000 tax units; (ii) for the request of a vacant mine: 20,000 tax units; (iii) for initiation of the request of statement of discovery for quarry, request of easement, slag heaps, dumps, tailings and placers: 9,000 tax units.
In addition article 54 authorizes the Collecting Agency of Catamarca to develop, through the General Revenue Office, the activity of collection, determination and control of the funds coming from mining royalties, fees and other public revenues under the responsibility of other organisms of the Provincial State.

Provincial Law No. 5797 – Decree No. 3543 published by in the Official Gazette of Catamarca on December 20, 2022.

“Budget of Expenditures and Resources of the Provincial Public Sector - Fiscal Year 2023”. Article 16 authorizes Provincial Executive Authority through the General Treasury of the Province, to administer the resources collected or to be collected as “Mining Royalties”, within the framework and under the guidelines established by Law No. 5,642 (“Mining Royalties Distribution Regime”) until their integration to the trust fund/s.

Resolution No. 204/2022 published in the National Official Gazette on December 22, 2022.

It approves the update of fees for proceedings related to materials included in Decrees No. 395/75 and No. 302/83 that relate to arms and explosives. It sets at three hundred thousand pesos (AR$300,000) the maximum amount of the fine applicable in the cases of article 36, paragraph 2 of law 20,429 for cases of individuals or individuals responsible, and in three million pesos (AR$3,000,000) the maximum amount of the fine applicable in the cases of Article 36, paragraph 3 of Law No. 20,429 for the cases of commercial users, industries, factories, financial entities, transportation and logistics companies, mines, construction sites, importers, exporters or commercial or collective responsibles and any other person or legal entity subject to the rules set forth in Article 5, paragraph 17 of Law No. 27,192.

Decree No. 2471 published in the Official Gazette of Neuquén on December 12, 2022.

It approves the regulation of the Law for the Strengthening and Development of the Value Chain of Neuquén (Law No. 3338). The purpose of this law is to strengthen the development of local suppliers in the value chain of the hydrocarbons and mining industry in the Province of Neuquén.
 

Mining in the media:
 

“Jujuy Will Bid 11 Thousand Hectares for Lithium Exploration” article published by Mendoza Post on November 9, 2022.

The province of Jujuy, through the company Jujuy Energy and Mining State Company (JEMSE for its acronym in spanish), launched a bidding process for the exploration and feasibility study of a lithium project. Between exploration, mines and reserve areas, the properties are seven and occupy a total of 11 thousand hectares in the northern province of Jujuy.

“The Government of Mendoza Opens the Door to Mining in Malargüe” article published by Unidiversidad on November 10, 2022.

The Governor of the Province of Mendoza announced that he will send a bill for copper exploration in the south of the province. The Governor assured that the Cerro Amarillo deposit is out of the scope of the Glaciers Law and within the framework of Law 7722 about “Prohibition of Chemical Substances”.

“A French Compañy Announced an Investment of USD 700 Million in the Lithium Business” article published by Clarin on November 10, 2022.

Eramine Sudamericana, a subsidiary of the French company Eramet, will increase its strategic lithium investment at Centenario Ratones, its deposit in the almost 4,000 meter heights of San Antonio de los Cobres in Salta, Argentina. The total investment estimated for the Eramet project is around USD 770 million until now, of which around USD 270 million has been spent to date.