"Argentina’s copper mining revival sparks environmental tensions", 25 June 2024

...The development of copper mines typically requires billions of dollars in investments, but such levels have yet to be seen in Argentina’s sector. Moreover, the industry and its activities face consistent pressure from social and environmental organisations, due to the potential for pollution, disputes over water usage, and other conflicts in areas surrounding mines.

The development of the Argentine copper sector is an objective of the country’s new president Javier Milei, who has proposed to relax environmental regulations in an attempt to encourage investment and extraction...

By 2031, when all projects currently in the pipeline are scheduled to be in operation, Argentina could become the world’s sixth-largest copper producer...

The first project set to enter production in Argentina is Josemaría in San Juan province, which is currently in the pre-construction stage. Its owner, the US-based Lundin Group, aims to bring it into operation between 2026 and 2027...

Also in San Juan is the Los Azules mine, owned by Canadian company McEwen Mining’s copper-focused subsidiary...

Other projects include El Pachón, Filo del Sol and Altar, which are also in San Juan, as well as Taca-Taca in Salta province, Mara in Catamarca province, and San Jorge in Mendoza province, which are in various stages of development...

...Argentina’s Glaciers Law stipulates that the pit created by copper extraction’s blasting and excavation process cannot be sited in a periglacial environment – an area on the edge of a glacier with often frozen soils, which acts as a water regulator. Environmental NGO Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN) has claimed that Josemaría’s open-pit mine would be in breach of this rule...

The other major concern that environmentalists have raised around copper mining is its water consumption. FARN identified La Alumbrera, the most recently active copper mine in the country, as having consumed more than 25 billion litres a year. “This is equivalent to 34% of the water consumed by all the inhabitants of the province of Catamarca”...

On its website, CAEM claims that mining in Argentina represents less than 1% of Argentina’s total water consumption...

Likewise, Josemaría states on its website that its closed circuits will recirculate and recover as much water as possible...

Mining companies in Argentina say they are working throughout the production chain to export what they call “green copper“ – which has a reportedly lower carbon footprint – in response to environmental demands from international markets...