Alejandro Moro, CEO of Eramine South America, visited Salta to meet with the province’s Minister of Production and Mining and the Secretary of Mining, Ignacio Lupión and Gustavo Carrizo, to reaffirm the company’s commitment to the lithium project it operates at the Centenario Ratones salar in the Puna region of Salta.
By Panorama Minero
Following changes at the top management of the French mining group, Alejandro Moro, CEO of Eramine South America, confirmed to Salta’s authorities the strategic importance of the Centenario Ratones lithium project for the company.
“I needed to introduce myself to the Minister and the Secretary so that they understand our project, understand our commitment to mining and, above all, to the province of Salta, in order to develop our project to its maximum potential,” Moro emphasized after the meeting.
The CEO also highlighted that the plant has reached close to 80% of its nominal production capacity and added that in January “1,600 tonnes of lithium were produced and are ready to be exported.”
Restructuring in the finance area
Eramet shares declined on Monday after the temporary suspension of the French mining group’s Chief Financial Officer became public, adding to the dismissal of its former Chief Executive Officer days earlier.
However, Eramet clarified in a statement that the suspension of Abel Martins-Alexandre, pending an investigation into his management methods, was not related to the dismissal of former Chief Executive Officer Paulo Castellari on February 1.
The nickel, manganese and lithium mining company had attributed Castellari’s dismissal—after only eight months in the role—to differences over operating methods, particularly regarding coordination with the Board of Directors and company teams.
Eramet, which has a market capitalization of nearly €2 billion (US$2.38 billion), will publish its annual results on February 18. Finally, Chairwoman Christel Bories will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer, resuming the position she had handed over to Castellari last year.
Impact on the NOA ecosystem
During the third quarter of 2025, Eramet reported adjusted revenue of €720 million, representing a year-on-year decline of 10%. Although the group achieved significant volume growth, driven mainly by manganese and nickel, the negative impact of prices (-25%) and exchange rate movements (-6%) ultimately affected revenues and cash generation, which remained negative during the period.
In this context, lithium emerges as one of the few vectors showing clearly positive signals. The company reported strong progress in the commissioning and ramp-up of lithium carbonate production, in line with established targets, which remained between 4,000 and 7,000 tonnes of LCE (Lithium Carbonate Equivalent) in 2025.
This performance reinforces the strategic nature of the Argentine project, with Centenario Ratones in the province of Salta serving as one of the pillars of the group’s regional expansion.
In parallel with the change in executive leadership, Eramet implemented a deep operational and financial reorganization, formalized through the launch of the global ReSolution program, aimed at improving productivity, reducing costs and restoring cash generation in a context of historically low prices for the group’s main commodities.
Within this framework, the lithium project in Salta emerges as one of the best-positioned strategic assets. The company confirmed that the plant ramp-up is progressing as planned, with a target of reaching 90% capacity by mid-2026.
For the mining ecosystem of Argentina’s NOA region, the leadership change does not introduce signs of contraction—something confirmed by Alejandro Moro’s visit.
