The Government of Mendoza formalized a relevant institutional step for the development of mining infrastructure in the southern part of the province by transferring the expropriated properties in the Pata Mora area, department of Malargüe, to the trust assets managed by Mendoza Fiduciaria S.A., within the framework of the Trust for the Development of Malargüe and the “Pata Mora” Logistics and Services Hub and Mining Promotion.
By Panorama Minero
Decree No. 126 instructs the Government Notary Office to grant the deed of transfer of ownership and complete the corresponding registry inscription. The property, located in the southernmost part of Mendoza, near the border with Neuquén and La Pampa, had already been declared of public utility and expropriated, with a final court ruling and effective possession taken in October 2025.
From a legal standpoint, the transfer consolidates full availability of the asset. From a productive perspective, it enables the operational phase of a logistics node conceived as support for mining development in southern Mendoza and as a complementary component of one of the largest-scale projects in Argentina: Potasio Río Colorado.
The energy component of the plan contemplates a connection from the Comahue–Cuyo extra-high voltage line to the Pata Mora area. The projected route is not limited to supplying the future logistics hub but includes a prior connection to the Potasio Río Colorado mine. For the potash project, located in southern Mendoza about 70 kilometers from the town of Malargüe and near the Colorado River, the availability of electricity under industrial conditions is one of the structural requirements for its large-scale development. Interconnection with the high-voltage system would help resolve one of the main technical and economic challenges that have historically affected its viability.
In planning terms, the electrical infrastructure designed for Pata Mora acts as a vector of regional integration: it links the national interconnected system with a mining enclave of international scale and, at the same time, supplies a logistics hub that aims to consolidate itself as a service platform for projects in southern Mendoza.
Transfer of properties
The transfer of ownership to Mendoza Fiduciaria as trustee implies that the properties are allocated to a specific asset pool with a defined purpose: the execution of infrastructure works, land regularization, and the promotion of economic and mining development. This framework allows the structuring of contracts, financing, and partnerships under a project-based logic, separate from the general assets of the provincial State. In the Argentine context, where infrastructure often constitutes one of the main bottlenecks for mining development, the trust instrument introduces institutional predictability and facilitates coordination with private actors.
From a national perspective, Pata Mora is not merely a new industrial park in southern Mendoza. It is projected as a logistics node linked to the Comahue–Cuyo energy corridor, the national interconnected electrical system, and a strategic project such as Potasio Río Colorado, one of the largest potash resources in the country. The decision to combine a limited urban settlement with large-scale energy infrastructure reveals that the focus of the design is not the size of the “town” to be established, but the capacity to support energy-intensive industrial and mining operations.
In a scenario where project competitiveness increasingly depends on critical infrastructure—transport, energy, and logistics—the development of Pata Mora introduces a structural variable for southern Mendoza and adds a relevant element of analysis to the Argentine mining map.
