The governors of the three provinces, together with the CFI and the IDB, discussed tools to expand the participation of Argentine companies in the mining value chain. The meeting also featured a study quantifying projected demand for mining inputs, equipment and services.
By Panorama Minero
The development of local suppliers is consolidating as one of the key priorities of the Lithium Roundtable. The governors of Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca participated in a federal meeting alongside the Federal Investment Council (CFI) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), focused on developing tools to enable more Argentine SMEs to competitively integrate into mining value chains.
The meeting brought together mining companies, industry chambers, multilateral organizations and public-sector representatives to analyze the opportunities generated by the expansion of mining projects and the remaining challenges to increasing the participation of domestic suppliers.
Against a backdrop of growing global demand for mineral resources, the meeting focused on the potential to leverage the sector’s expansion to generate employment, diversify provincial economies, strengthen local productive capabilities and capture greater value in the regions where mining projects are developed.
Tools to Integrate More SMEs into Mining
One of the meeting’s main topics was the work being carried out by the CFI together with ProPymes and Fundar, aimed at identifying opportunities for Argentine SMEs to adapt and competitively integrate into the sector.
A study developed by the IDB, the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) and the Argentine Chamber of Mining Companies (CAEM) was also presented. According to information shared during the meeting, the study quantifies for the first time the mining sector’s projected demand for inputs, equipment and services.
Jujuy Governor and pro tempore president of the Lithium Mining Region Roundtable, Carlos Sadir, highlighted the importance of linking mining growth with provincial economies. “For us, developing our local suppliers is essential, because that also means developing our people, our communities and the places where these projects are carried out,” he said.
Catamarca Governor Raúl Jalil, meanwhile, highlighted the regional coordination achieved among the producing provinces. “It was a good idea to approach the three provinces as a lithium region in order to coordinate public policies. And we can see that companies are also increasingly embracing the idea of working together,” he said.
A Common Policy Among the Lithium Provinces
Salta Governor Gustavo Sáenz emphasized the need to maintain coordinated policies among Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca, regardless of their political differences.
“The three of us made the decision to create the Lithium Roundtable, establish common policies and work together as a team, regardless of political affiliations, because we understand that this is essential for the growth of our provinces,” he said.
Sáenz also said that favorable conditions exist for the sector’s development, while stressing the need to provide predictability. “Very good times are ahead: we have everything the world is demanding. We need to reach agreements, establish clear rules of the game, political certainty and social license,” he added.
From the CFI, Secretary General Ignacio Lamothe said that mining, together with oil and gas, is emerging as one of Argentina’s new engines of economic growth, directly linking its expansion to the strengthening of supplier companies.
Lamothe explained that Argentina’s governors had tasked the organization with developing a specific supplier development program combining technical and financial assistance tools to support SMEs.
From Discussions to Concrete Policies
Fernanda Ávila, Executive Secretary of the Lithium Roundtable, said the next challenge will be to translate the assessments and proposals that emerged from the meeting into concrete actions.
“There is an enormous challenge ahead of us: turning what we discussed today into concrete public and private policies,” Ávila said. She also highlighted the participation of different stakeholders across the value chain as a sign of support for the agenda being advanced by the provinces.
Along the same lines, Viviana Alva-Hart, IDB Group Representative in Argentina, said the country has “an extraordinary opportunity to transform its mining potential into productive development, employment and new opportunities for its regional economies.”
According to Alva-Hart, one of the main challenges is enabling more Argentine companies to grow and competitively integrate into the value chains developing around the mining industry. She added that the IDB aims to support the country and its provinces in transforming that potential into investment, productive capabilities and economic growth.
The closing panel brought together Sadir, Jalil and Sáenz alongside Lamothe, Ávila and Alva-Hart. The event later continued with working sessions involving participants, with supplier development at the center of an agenda that Argentina’s mining provinces are seeking to deepen as the sector prepares for further expansion.
