Mining News
It establishes the minimum standards for the protection of glaciers and periglacier environment (regarding this law, see the September issue of our Newsletter).
Resolution 78/2010 enacted by "Secretaría de Minería" [National Mining Secretariat] on 10/19/2010 (published in the Official Gazette on 10/22/2010).
This resolution establishes that vehicles and non-stationary mining equipment that enter or exit a mining project and are affected by the Mining Investment Law, No. 24196, shall place a satellite tracking device. This device must allow for establishing the location of the vehicle at all times, with the aim of determining its mining use. Also, it must record current or historic location within the territory of the Argentine Republic and the area of the Argentine-Chilean Mining Integration and Complementation Treaty, as well as its position and speed.
This decree regulates Provincial Law No. 14126, which declared that the area "La Poligonal" in Tandil is a protected landscape of provincial interest. It establishes the procedure for the restructuring plans of the mining exploitations currently in activity. The "Organismo Provincial para el Desarrollo Sostenible" [Provincial Agency for Sustainable Development] is in charge of evaluating the plans submitted by the owners of the mining exploitations. As regards Law No. 14126, please refer to our March 2010 issue, "La Provincia de Buenos Aires prohíbe la explotación de canteras en la ciudad de Tandil".
Province of Catamarca
This decree provides for the update of the sum to be received by the provincial authority as a royalty for the use of Public Waters, set by 1973 Provincial Law on Water No. 2577. The decree establishes a different collection method, either for the use of surface water or groundwater; mineral, thermal and radioactive; and the use of Public Water intended to hydroelectric power generation. Concerning the use of surface water, the royalty varies according to the source of the water: from a reservoir (AR$0.006/m3), a water intake (AR$0.005/m3) or precarious (AR$0.004/m3). For groundwater, the amount does not vary (AR$0.025/m3). In both cases, for the mining activity the royalty will be adjusted by a 36% rate. If the individual is not able to provide the information about the amount of water extracted, the decree stipulates how to calculate the royalty to be paid.
This insight is a brief comment on legal news in Argentina; it does not purport to be an exhaustive analysis or to provide legal advice.