The El Pachón deposit in San Juan province is one of eight sources of copper that Argentina is preparing to mine. (Photo by Argentine Mining Secretariat)
Hoping to cash in on growing world demand for copper as an ingredient in renewable-energy and green-transport systems, Argentina has announced plans to join fellow Andean countries Chile and Peru as leading producers of the metal. Argentina does not mine copper currently, but it has eight projects in various stages of development, according to a report issued in September by the Argentine Mining Secretariat. The report says these could generate US$4.2 billion annually by 2027 and US$11.1 billion a year by 2030, when production would reach 1.2 million tons annually, or 5% of the current copper production worldwide. It estimates the investment required to move all eight projects forward at $22 billion. Currently, Argentina hosts 16 large-scale mining projects. Twelve extract gold, two tap silver deposits and the remaining two mine lithium, demand for which has surged given that metal’s importance as an ingredient in... [Log in to read more]
