In this framework, Lucero highlighted that the mining Argentina “experiences a favorable seasonal climate” as has not happened in a long time and cited a private survey from December 2023. “Except for situations that we could call exceptional, which thus confirm the rule, today the mining enjoys the favor of public opinion like never before since there are image measurements of the standard they have today,” he indicated from the stage, behind the lectern.
The survey revealed that 3 out of 4 people consider mining positive and associate it with words like extraction, provincial development, work and production. Asked if are in favor or against the development of mining activity in Argentina, only 17% responded negatively, with an unprecedented 65% in favor, highlighted the Milei official. Furthermore, he highlighted that 79% expressed themselves in favor of the production of lithium in the country and 72% for the production of copperwhich promises a revolution in the next four years with an investment of US$20,000 million.
“This paradigm shift must lead to public discussions around mining and mining projects being based on scientifically proven and verifiable facts, and not on slogans and clichés that, when minimally analyzed, do not hold up,” said the specialized lawyer. , former partner of the studio Marval O’Farrell Mairal.
Below, the governors of Córdoba listened to him, Martin Llaryolaand of San Juan, Marcelo Orregothe president of CAEM, Roberto Cacciolathe executive director of the entity, Alejandra Cardonathe ambassador of Canada, Reid Sirrsand the recently appointed embassy of Peru, Carlos Alberto Chocano Burgaamong other guests.
Lucero, on the warpath against those who prohibit mining
But Lucero took a step further in the debate over mining and warned of consequences for those who prohibit the activity in the provinces. “We propose that restrictions and prohibitions regarding mining and its extraction and benefit projects or operations take care of the economic damage they cause”, he emphasized. The warning was not causal. Hours before 380 representatives of mining companies arrive at Cordovathe provincial Supreme Court ratified the constitutionality of local law 9,526 that prohibits open pit metal mining, mining of nuclear minerals and the use of toxic substances in mining processes.
Currently there are six provinces that prohibit metal mining for different reasons: Chubut, La Pampa, Mendoza, Córdoba, San Luis and Tucumán. Provincial laws prevent different forms of production processes, especially those linked to open-pit production and the use of cyanide, mercury and sulfuric acid. for a short time The Rioja It was also among the provinces that vetoed the activity, but after the passing of a prohibitive law in 2007, it was repealed the following year. The same thing happened in Black riverwhich after passing a prohibition law in 2005, was finally repealed in 2012.
“We must analyze our rules and our decisions by weighing their economic effects. Very especially when such decisions involve leaving aside economic resources and jobs that will not be generated by another activity. In the current state of science, very few environmental impacts are exempt from adequate mitigation measures. Well, the cliché and the slogan only prevent the analysis, they veto it, they annul it. And with this they take off the table, for the sake of the image, resources that could improve the lives of thousands of Argentines,” the secretary replied.
Likewise, he highlighted that the mining was a pioneer in “demanding of itself” environmentally responsible conduct through the chapter that incorporated law 24,585 into the Mining Code, which it defined as an “innovative and exemplary law that has been in force in the country since 1995, and that allows us to affirm that mining, with its mistakes and learning, is at the forefront of these issues in the world in general and in Argentina in particular.”
Along these lines, the official promised to promote the “better practices” so that mining, in all its aspects, is an even more respected industry. “Our country must return to the path of unrestricted respect for the rule of law and the rule of law.”. “All industry players must understand and embody it, without exceptions,” stated, and added: “I have personally regretted how some concepts foreign to our legal culture permeated the collective conscience and ended up encouraging behaviors that are, plain and simple, violations of the constitutional principle according to which the people do not deliberate or govern, except through its representatives and authorities created by the Constitution”.
Minerals for the energy transition arouse interest
In another section of his first speech after the official designation – the second will be heard in the Expo San Juan Minera from May 21 to 23-, Lucero said that another favorable factor for mining is the “energy paradigm shift” that is lived in the world. “The transition towards clean energies, and the replacement of mobility based on fossil fuels by electromobility as part of the trend to reduce carbon emissions at a global level. This transition has opened a window of opportunity for those countries in which critical minerals for said transition are abundant: lithium, copper, nickel, graphite, cobalt, manganese and rare earths”he listed.
In this context, he recalled that in the country the exploitation of lithium in the Salar del Hombre Muerto began in 1997 with the operation Phoenix, today in the hands of Arcadium, and continued with the projects that exploit the Olaroz and Cauchari salt flats, and the one that will begin next July in the Centenario Ratones Salt Flat. Additionally, he said there are 47 projects in stages ranging from prospecting to construction, of which 10 will enter production in the next three years.
About him copper He was cautious and brief. During dinner, before trying the pork with mustard sauce and rolled potatoes, Lucero stated: “According to copper producers, in the coming years there will be a lack of mines to satisfy the demand for this essential metal for electrical conduction, so it is likely that this demand will exceed the extraction of minerals already existing or planned for the short term.
As CAEM has been warning about the gold and silverLucero also expressed concern about the sharp drop in exports and production. “The deficit of early and advanced exploration in precious metals is a reality that concerns us, because without measured resources and proven reserves, our gold and silver production will enter a critical stage in about three years”, he expressed. There was a lot of discussion among the participants about this topic and the need to approve the RIGI of the basic law.
Lucero’s request to mining businessmen
Lucero asked the businessmen “face obstacles and intelligently build solutions” that will allow new projects to come into production sooner rather than later and stressed the interest that Argentina arouses among international investors. “They unanimously express their interest in the opportunities that arise in this new chapter that is being written in our country,” he said without giving more details or names.
“It is our choice not to waste them. What is at stake is the quality of life of the generations that follow us and, before, the opportunity to create employment and lift many of our Argentine brothers out of poverty immersed in living conditions that challenge those of us who have benefited from social and educational conditions,” he noted.
Luis Lucero defined the role that the Ministry of Mining of the Nation will have
Finally, the secretary anticipated what his management will be like at the head of the mining portfolio, which today depends on the Minister of Economy Luis Caputo. “I understand the function of the Secretariat that I head as a service function, aimed at aligning the interests and needs of all the actors participating in the sector so that mining grows,” he assured. And he promised to be facilitators of constructive dialogue between the provinces and the Nation, and between the public and private sectors.
“All actions must tend, I insist, to improve the living conditions of workers and communities in areas that are blessed to host the deposits that the world demands,” he stressed.
“In our management we will always be respectful of provincial powers, owners of the resources as established by our Constitution; without invading powers or overlapping efforts, but without renouncing the institutional role that the law grants us in the design of policies,” he highlighted. with a scrupulous tone.
At the end, Lucero opened the chest of memories and closed his inaugural speech with a veneration of the phrase that José Ortega y Gasset uttered 85 years ago, when he presented his book in Buenos Aires Young people meditation. “We have an enormous field of opportunities before us. We only need to deploy our work capacity and the talent of our people to generate the wealth we need. Paraphrasing that Spanish philosopher who loved us so much and so well, I close with a ‘Argentine miners, to things'”.
