Finally, the Salta Energy and Mining Resources company (Remsa) will launch a tender in mid-August for the concession and productive development of lithium within an area of about 37 thousand hectares in the Arizaro salt flat. This is what he anticipated The Tribune the head of the state company, Alberto Castillo.
“It is the largest lithium production area in the country,” the manager recalled and mentioned that the edicts for the bidding process will be published in about 15 days.
According to the first surveys on interest in this deposit, there are about 15 investment groups that could participate in the Remsa competition for the mining concession in the Puna of Salta.
During the Canadian PDCA 2024 fair, the main one in the global mining arena, which took place last March, Castillo met with several of the potential investors.
Remsa is the gateway to mining in the province. The company is in charge of bidding for the concession of vacant areas for this activity or could also exploit it or associate with investors for the same purpose. The state company is the first concessionaire of the surfaces to be developed and what it offers is precisely that condition, in addition to the results of geological studies carried out on the deposits.
The entire process is supervised by the Mines Court of Salta and the environmental and technical authority for the control of these deposits corresponds to the Ministry of Mining and Energy of the Province.
Among the conditions for the specifications for the Arizaro fraction that will be tendered in August (called Remsa 10), investment obligations in social infrastructure will be established, such as roads, solar parks to benefit the Puno populations and gas pipelines, among others.
For example, in the tender carried out last year for the Remsa 9 contest, also located in the Salar de Arizaro, this requirement led to the commitment of the winner of the process (the Chinese mining company Ganfeng) to invest 13 million dollars to paving roads.
Similarly, bidders have to establish NSR (net smelting return) percentages in favor of Remsa. This is a kind of royalty that is charged according to the output value of the mining product at the mine mouth.
This scheme was established, to cite one case, with the Centenarios Ratones lithium project, which will begin production in July and will give the Salta state company 5% of NSR.
Another point that is planned to be included in the August tender will be an environmental compensation clause. Competing companies will have to calculate and report the carbon emissions they will have in their projects and how they will offset it in Salta with actions that can range from forestation or other investments, such as, for example, in landfills to produce biogas. .
Rio Grande Salt Flats
Last Tuesday, Remsa launched a tender for the study, exploration and eventual mining exploitation in the deposit called “Patagonia”, located in the Río Grande salt flat in Salta.
“It is made known that the object of the investigation consists of the exploration and search for lithium, potassium, gold, copper, iron, magnesium and/or any other mineral of interest,” they stated in the statement published in the Official Gazette of the Province. .
The Patagonia area covers an area of more than 100 hectares. The envelopes with offers to take over that mine will be opened on June 28.
Remsa’s intervention is based on the Provincial Mining Procedures Code and the National Mining Code, which grants exclusive areas of interest for mining prospecting. In accordance with the regulations, and within the period set for prospecting, the successful bidder may request one or more exploration permits or make statements of discoveries.
Conditions for bidders
The bidders in the tender must propose a work and investment plan with details of the processes and work to be developed and executed. Likewise, they must detail the amounts that will be invested in each stage with their corresponding execution schedules. They must detail the amount of personnel and machinery that will be allocated to the development of the mining project.
