The company United Mining Projects Corporationa multinational company based in United Arab Emirates, announced that it will make a million-dollar investment for the exploitation of lithium in Argentina. Through its subsidiary Marhen Lithium, the company will disburse 550 million dollars to undertake the project Rio Grandelocated in the northwest region of Catamarca.
The initiative, which covers more than 9,000 hectares, will require an initial investment for the construction of the mine until 2028. It is expected that during this phase more than 700 jobs will be generated in the country, providing an important employment opportunity in the region. During the production stage, it is projected that around 200 people will work directly on the project, with an estimated economic impact of $168 million for the local economy.
The announcement comes after the signing of an agreement between the provincial government and a consortium of foreign companies, after two years of negotiations. The arrival of the Arab giant will allow the exploration and development of the Rio Grande Sur lithium brine salt project.
The $550 million will be used to build the necessary mining infrastructure, as well as for the extraction and processing of lithium.
Last week, at the third Annual Conference “Thinking Mining Big” organized by Banco Macro, the governor of Catamarca, Raul Jalil, emphasized the importance of mining for his province and for the country. “We had a copper project that was Under The Alumbrera. It did not have the multiplier effect that it should have, perhaps due to lack of knowledge, but now we have formed the lithium region with Salta and Jujuy and we have a look at what State policies and the multiplier effect of mining mean in our provinces” said the governor and host of the event, which took place at the Finca Aylen Catamarca, in Fray Mamerto Esquiú, a few kilometers from San Fernando, the provincial capital.
“To think big about Argentina is to think about those places that were not taken into account, like this deep and forgotten north of the homeland that today has to give the world everything that the world demands. This joint work of the Northern provinces is important,” he highlighted. Gustavo Saenz, governor of Salta. Its for jujeño, Carlos Sadirhighlighted that mining contributes a lot to its provinces, especially because mining developments occur in inhospitable areas, from which people emigrated because there was no economic activity and where today there is a direct participation of the original communities.
“We must not forget that the indigenous people did mining,” highlighted Jalil, who specified that mining generates 1,500 formal direct jobs and a total of 6,500 direct and indirect jobs in Catamarca.
Jalil emphasized the need for consensus and agreements to overcome the “delicate” situation in the country and asked that the Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) “be approved quickly” or, in any case, be discarded quickly. It happens, he explained, that as the project provides better conditions than the current ones, investors postpone decisions while waiting for a definition.
One of the issues mentioned again and again throughout the event is the lack of infrastructure (roads, gas pipelines, electrical networks, connectivity, etc.) that do not limit mining potential. In this regard, Jalil commented that in the next two months the province will finish completing the route to Antofagasta de la Sierra. But to unite it with San Antonio de los Cobresa key connection in the mining region, another 200 kilometers are missing, which for USD 33 million will cover the province with USD 18 million and four companies with operations in the area with USD 15 million: Pan American Energy (PAE), Posco, Galan Lithium and Arcadium Lithium.
