Where Argentina's mining provinces stand on Rigi

Argentina’s investment incentive regime known as Rigi has received a warm welcome in Río Negro, Mendoza, Catamarca, Salta and Jujuy provinces, while San Juan, Santa Cruz and Chubut are evaluating it and in Neuquén it has met fierce opposition.

The majority of provincial governments with mining projects in the pipeline are taking steps to join Rigi that comes under law No. 27,742, confident that it will strengthen the sector.

It is believed that legal stability, fiscal and tax benefits, VAT exemptions and foreign currency flexibility, among other aspects, will be enough to attract investments in projects. It applies to projects involving investment of at least US$200 million.

Río Negro, which has several exploration projects, was the first to present a proposal to join Rigi through a bill backed by governor Alberto Weretilneck.

In Mendoza, governor Alfredo Cornejo also presented a bill to join Rigi and promote projects such as Don Sixto, which is currently suspended, San Jorge and Potasio Río Colorado, which Minera Aguilar and ARG plan to reactivate.

Mendoza has a strategy to create a mining district in the Malargüe area, and Cornejo has met with Chinese authorities and delegates from entities such as ICBC, Bank of China, China Railway and BYD to attract capital.

In Catamarca, governor Raúl Jalil is carrying out the procedures to join Rigi, which together with an internal law (resolution 498/14) requiring mining companies to hire a minimum of 70% of labor and services locally would be key for more jobs. 

The province is host to Fenix, the oldest lithium operation in the nation, and Tres Quebradas, Sal de Vida and Kachi, among others, are expected to start up in the short term.

In Salta, the local mining chamber, provincial deputy Roque Cornejo and the chairman of provincial mining and energy company REMSA, Alberto Castillo, look favorably upon Rigi, especially to promote mining.

This month the first Salta lithium project, Centenario-Ratones, started operations and there are 30 mining initiatives in the pipeline, such as Mariana, Pozuelos, Pastos Grandes, Taca Taca, Rincón and Salar de Arizaro.

In Jujuy, governor Carlos Sadir is processing a bill to join Rigi, although only partially. The secretary of the local mining chamber, Nilo Carrión, considers that it is not an immediate solution to the labor crisis and income generation, due to the long periods of mining development.

Salar de Olaroz, one of the three lithium operations in Argentina, is in Jujuy and others such as Cauchari, La Providencia and Cauchari-Olaroz are under development.

In San Juan, the local mining chamber, the San Juan industrial association, the Argentine chamber of construction, the chamber of foreign commerce and the merchants’ association are all asking to join Rigi.

The entities that represent hundreds of SMEs see Rigi as an opportunity to create productive chains and jobs.

The coordinator of the environmental evaluation commission of the San Juan mining ministry, Mario Juárez, said in an interview with BNamericas that the scheme will be better than the previous mining investment law, whose guarantees were not fulfilled.

San Juan hosts the Veladero precious metals mine and more than 30 under development, among which are Josemaría, Los Azules, Filo Del Sol and El Pachón.

In Santa Cruz, despite being one of the provinces with the most mining exports, there is still no clear position. Production, trade and commerce minister Gustavo Martínez believes that it would increase investment, but local officials are still analyzing the potential impact.

Santa Cruz mining secretary Nadia Ricci has said that Rigi is a positive “wink” to companies and that it would boost investments in exploration.

Santa Cruz hosts about 20 mainly gold projects like Cap-oeste, Cerro Moro, Manantial Espejo, Cerro Negro and Don Nicolás.

In Chubut, economy minister Andrés Meiszner confirmed the provincial government will send a bill to join Rigi but with reservations. The president of the province's business federation, Carlos Lorenzo, said he was optimistic about the prospects.

There are uranium initiatives in Chubut like Laguna Colorada, Laguna Salada, Cerro Solo and Meseta Central, as well as precious metals projects Navidad and Suyai.

Lastly, Neuquén categorically rejects Rigi. Provincial deputy Lorena Parrilli presented a draft declaration repudiating the regime, stating that it would be "disastrous for the province and would allow wild extractivism in mining."

Parrilli believes Rigi will only favor transnational companies and not requiring companies to liquidate foreign exchange from exports in the country means “leaving dollars abroad.” The only known project in Neuquén to date is the Andacollo gold one.