The government of Argentina expects lithium mining to drive up mining exports from the country under an ambitious plan that aims to reach sustainable mining by 2030 and triple the value of its mining exports to $10bn.
Secretary of Mining, Alberto Hensel announced the launch of the Argentine Mining Development Strategic Plan (Pedma) which will be implemented after the November mid-term legislative elections in the South American country.
Under Pedma, Argentina aims to catch up with other Latin American countries like Chile and Peru where the mining sector makes up 12pc and 10pc of the countries’ GDP, respectively. Argentina’s mining sector, on the other hand, contributes only around 0.6pc to the country’s GDP at present through the 15 mining companies and 50 advanced projects operating in that region.
Lithium is expected to be the key driver for mining growth under Pedma with the country planning to grow its exports from $190mn currently to $2.1bn after the implementation of the initiative. The value of copper exports, which is close to zero today is also expected to increase to around $5.4bn under this plan.
Data from the country’s National Statistics Institute (Indec) released on Sep 7 registered mining exports for H1 at $2bn, increasing by 17.1pc against H1 2020.