Panorama Minero: Latest News

The **PSJ Cobre Mendocino Project** updated its technical design during the pre-construction stage and submitted a series of optimizations related to ore processing, water recovery and tailings disposal to the relevant authority. According to the company, the modifications have already been evaluated and approved.

The two organizations signed a cooperation agreement covering training, financial education, employability and tools aimed at strengthening suppliers and SMEs linked to the mining industry.

Challenger Gold has defined an accelerated roadmap for the San Juan project. Construction will gain momentum in 2027, while engineering, exploration and financing continue to advance.

The San Juan-based company announced a change in the composition of its shareholding structure. According to the company, operations, its professional team and ongoing projects will continue unchanged.

Mining and artificial intelligence compete for capital and resources, but they can also reinforce each other. An analysis by Eng. Eduardo Barrera, Advisor to the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials (CRM) Facility.

Monitoring material levels in chutes and intermediate bulk containers is vital for preventing unplanned downtime. Jorge Espinoza, mining industry manager at Emerson, and Jennifer Muñoz, product engineer at Emerson, explain how advanced radar transmitters provide the most suitable solutions for these challenging applications.

The creation of CProMEC, promoted within Asinmet, adds an operational structure to the province’s network of business chambers at a key moment for mining and oil & gas.

IDB Invest will provide up to US$250 million and mobilize an additional US$450 million from financial institutions. The financing will support the expansion of lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate production.

The junior mining company from Kazakhstan made its first visit to the province and agreed to tour CAMYEN areas that will soon be put out to tender. The company is seeking to expand its international presence.

The project integrating Agua Rica with the Bajo la Alumbrera infrastructure submitted the EIR to Catamarca’s Ministry of Mining, marking a new step in the assessment process for its development.

Governor Alfredo Cornejo addressed U.S. investors, with the legislative approval of environmental permits as one of the central themes of his presentation.

The lithium industry enters 2026 with a different conversation than the one that defined the years of accelerated expansion. New productive capacity is entering the market, prices are showing signs of recovery, and a pipeline of projects is once again putting investment decisions under scrutiny. At the same time, the growth of energy storage is adding a new demand vector, and competition over supply chains keeps lithium on the strategic agenda of the world's leading economies.

Marcelo Orrego, Alfredo Cornejo and Carlos Sadir outlined a shared agenda from San Juan, Mendoza and Jujuy to capture the next wave of mining investment. Predictable rules, infrastructure, permitting timelines and long-term continuity emerged as key priorities.

The development jointly advanced by Lundin Mining and BHP illustrates the scale of Argentina’s next generation of copper projects. Josemaría’s first phase alone will require 260 MW of power and major new transmission infrastructure in the high Andes.

Martín Pérez de Solay, CEO of Glencore Argentina, discussed the conditions needed to develop the country’s next generation of copper projects. The company is pursuing a sequence in Argentina that begins with the restart of Alumbrera and continues with MARA and El Pachón, developments representing US$13.5 billion in investment under their RIGI applications.

DFC, EXIM Bank and USTDA are part of a strategy aimed at mobilizing capital for mining, processing and infrastructure. ARTI and the specific critical minerals framework broaden a bilateral agenda in which copper and lithium hold a strategic position.

Power, roads, railways and logistics corridors are becoming increasingly important as projects advance. Mining companies, government officials and provincial governors agree that the challenge is no longer simply attracting investment, but creating the conditions to turn it into operating mines.

Interview with Carolina Sánchez, Director of the Institute for the Development of Sustainable Mining (IDeMiS) at the Catholic University of Salta.

At a key meeting held at EPSE, engineer Alejandro Albarellos spoke about the risks of arc flash in high-power environments. The specialist warned of the need to implement engineering studies, train personnel and use appropriate protective equipment in response to rising regional energy consumption.

The National Government confirmed the award of a 329.09-kilometre section of the corridor in Mendoza under a 20-year concession scheme, with four toll stations and projected investment of more than US$300 million.

The conference organized by Gecamin brings together 400 professionals and executives in Santiago to discuss risk management, new technologies and prevention in the mining industry.

The lithium project in Antofagasta de la Sierra concluded the oral stage of the Citizen Participation process. The environmental assessment is entering its final stage, with the DIA expected in September.

Lithium produced from South American brines can have a significant carbon-footprint advantage over material derived from hard-rock spodumene. But turning that difference into a verifiable and commercially valuable attribute remains a challenge.

The UTN plans to launch a Mining Engineering degree program in 2027, while Mendoza accelerates its return to metalliferous mining. Professional training is emerging as another gap left by two decades of limited mining development.