Argentina’s mining industry is undergoing a period of strong expansion, with lithium emerging as one of the main drivers of growth, both through higher production and its increasing contribution to exports. Data from the Argentine Chamber of Mining Companies (CAEM) and the Rosario Board of Trade (BCR), together with statistics from Argentina’s National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC), show how lithium has moved from a relatively secondary position within the country’s mining export basket to an increasingly significant role.
By Panorama Minero
In 2025, Argentina’s mining exports reached US$6.075 billion, up 31% from 2024 and accounting for 6.9% of the country’s total exports. For 2026, a report prepared by CAEM and BCR projects that the sector’s exports could exceed US$9 billion, representing growth of more than 50% and taking mining’s share of national exports above 10%, based on the Central Bank of Argentina’s Market Expectations Survey (REM), which projects total exports of US$96.056 billion.
Lithium features prominently within that increase. Production is not only rising but, unlike other segments of the metals mining industry, lithium is combining higher volumes with a recovery in international prices.
The shift becomes clear when comparing 2025 with projections for 2026. Last year, Argentina produced 116,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), an increase of 56% year-on-year and 241% compared with 2018. That growth helped lithium exports reach US$911 million, 44% higher than in 2024, even as the average export price had fallen to US$8.7 per kilogram.
For 2026, the intermediate scenario projected by CAEM-BCR envisages production of 172,000 tonnes of LCE, 48% higher than in 2025. The major difference, however, comes from prices: the average export value is estimated at around US$14.9 per kilogram.
With that combination, lithium exports could reach US$2.559 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 181%.
The figures illustrate the change in scale. In 2025, lithium exports of US$911 million represented approximately 15% of total mining exports. If lithium exports reach the projected US$2.559 billion in 2026 and overall mining exports exceed US$9 billion, the mineral would account for at least one-quarter of the mining sector’s export business, although the exact share will depend on the final value of total sector exports.
In other words, lithium would shift from being primarily a volume-driven source of growth to becoming a driver of both volume and price growth. This was highlighted by CAEM-BCR report authors Nadav Rajzman and Guido D’Angelo in their analysis of recent industry trends: “The production decline in precious metals (gold and silver) results in higher operating costs, although the international environment offsets this through higher global prices. The other side of the equation is the structural expansion of lithium, combining higher volumes with a price recovery in 2026.”
Mining Production Index Shows Where Growth Is Taking Place
The export trend is also reflected in physical production indicators. INDEC’s Mining Industrial Production Index (Mining IPI) rose 3.7% year-on-year in July 2026, while the January-July period recorded growth of 7.7% compared with the same period in 2025.
The overall result, however, masks significantly different trends across the major segments of the mining industry.
On the one hand, metal ore extraction fell 12.4% in July compared with the same month a year earlier and declined 0.7% between January and July. This category includes, among other products, gold and silver extraction, their concentrates, and gold doré.
On the other hand, non-metallic minerals and quarrying showed a markedly different performance, rising 19.7% year-on-year in July and accumulating growth of 33.7% during the first seven months of the year.
This category encompasses a wide range of activities, from ornamental stone, limestone and gypsum to sand, clay, salt and minerals used in the manufacture of chemical products. It is within the latter category that one of the most significant indicators of lithium’s growing weight can be found.
In July, the index for the extraction of minerals used in the manufacture of chemical products reached 343.2 points, with 2016=100 as the base. Activity increased 9.8% year-on-year and accumulated growth of 46.9% between January and July.
The figure is particularly relevant because INDEC includes lithium carbonate and other lithium minerals within this category, alongside calcite or calcium carbonate, boron minerals and other products.
Lithium: Nearly 50% Cumulative Growth in the Mining IPI
INDEC’s detailed breakdown provides an even clearer picture. Within minerals extracted for chemical manufacturing, lithium carbonate and other lithium minerals recorded an index of 407 points in July 2026, also based on 2016=100. The category grew 10.8% compared with July 2025 and accumulated an increase of 49.7% during the first seven months of 2026.
That performance exceeded both the 7.7% cumulative increase in the overall Mining IPI and the 33.7% growth recorded by non-metallic minerals and quarrying. It also surpassed the 46.9% increase in the broader category of minerals used in chemical manufacturing.
This identifies lithium as one of the most dynamic components of Argentina’s mining production structure, although the entire expansion of the chemical-minerals category cannot be attributed to lithium, since the index also includes calcite, boron minerals and other products.
INDEC data nevertheless show that lithium plays a significant role in this performance. While the broader chemical-minerals category increased 9.8% year-on-year in July, lithium carbonate and other lithium minerals grew 10.8%. The difference is even more pronounced on a cumulative basis: 46.9% for the broader category compared with 49.7% for lithium.
Non-Metallic Mining Is Also Growing, but With Different Drivers
Non-metallic minerals and quarrying grew 19.7% year-on-year in July and 33.7% on a cumulative basis. Performance within the sector, however, was uneven.
Ornamental stone declined 19.9% year-on-year and accumulated a 10.3% decrease. Limestone and gypsum fell 27.6% in July and 5.7% in the year to date. Sand, gravel and crushed stone declined 4.8% year-on-year, although they remained 2.4% higher on a cumulative basis. Clay and kaolin also fell, by 1.5% year-on-year and 8.8% cumulatively.
Growth was therefore concentrated in other segments. Extraction of minerals for chemical manufacturing increased 9.8% in July and 46.9% cumulatively. Salt extraction, meanwhile, recorded a sharp increase of 78.9% year-on-year and 99.2% in the first seven months of the year.
In this case, INDEC data show that the main driver was brine or saturated salt solution, which increased 81.7% in July and 102.7% on a cumulative basis. Refined, industrial and table salt increased just 1.9% year-on-year and declined 7.3% cumulatively, while pure sodium chloride fell 13% year-on-year but remained 21.8% higher in the year to date.
The comparison is important for accurately assessing lithium’s contribution: the strong growth in the Mining IPI is not attributable to a single mineral. Salt is expanding at even higher rates, while lithium stands out as one of the major structural growth drivers within minerals used in chemical manufacturing.
Lithium Carbonate: 9,431 Tonnes in July
The clearest measure of the production expansion can be found in the volume of processed lithium carbonate.
According to INDEC, 9,431.7 tonnes were produced in July 2026, representing an increase of 15.9% compared with July 2025. Between January and July, production grew 44.3% year-on-year.
Recent trends also show production capacity substantially above the levels recorded two years earlier. In July 2024, output stood at around 5,000 tonnes, rising to approximately 8,130 tonnes in July 2025 and 9,431.7 tonnes in July 2026.
The series also highlights the sharp acceleration recorded during 2025. The highest level in the period under review was reached in December 2025, at approximately 13,000 tonnes. Output then declined in January and February 2026, to around 8,000 and 7,000 tonnes, respectively, before recovering to approximately 11,500 tonnes in March, 11,500 tonnes in April, 11,600 tonnes in May and 12,000 tonnes in June.
July recorded a month-on-month decline from those levels, but production remained well above the figures reported in the same month of previous years and maintained double-digit year-on-year growth.
Between June and December 2023, cumulative production is estimated at approximately 27,200 tonnes, rising to around 63,000 tonnes in 2024. In 2025, production increased again to more than 100,000 tonnes, with an estimated cumulative total of 102,380 tonnes and a strong acceleration toward year-end, culminating in the December peak of approximately 13,000 tonnes.
The pace accelerated further in 2026: between January and July, approximately 76,231.7 tonnes of lithium carbonate and other lithium minerals were produced, 44.3% more than during the same period in 2025.
The series therefore confirms the significant expansion of Argentina’s lithium production capacity in recent years. That growth potential is also reflected in the number of projects making up the country’s lithium portfolio.
According to data from Argentina’s National Directorate for Mining Promotion and Economics, the country currently has 56 lithium projects: 7 in operation, 5 under construction, 2 at feasibility stage, 3 at prefeasibility stage, 4 at the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) stage, 27 in advanced exploration and 8 in early-stage exploration.
Together, these projects contain 216.32 million tonnes of LCE resources and 23 million tonnes of reserves, with estimated production potential of 602,000 tonnes per year, exceeding even the production currently projected for 2035.
The seven projects already in commercial operation are Cauchari-Olaroz, Centenario-Ratones, Fénix, Mariana, Olaroz, Sal de Oro and Tres Quebradas, while the five developments currently under construction, Hombre Muerto Oeste, Rincón, Sal de los Ángeles, Sal de Vida and Salar del Rincón, represent the next wave of production capacity and are expected to come online gradually over the coming years.
