The national government authorized the release of dollars for the import of basic inputs mining that allow to guarantee the production and construction of new projects.
As far as he could know Ambitthe release of orders processed through the Import System of the Argentine Republic (SIRA) for the mining industry will add in a first stage some US$12 million.
At the same time, according to official sources, a table was opened between the Customs, the National Mining Secretariat and the Argentine Chamber of Mining Entrepreneurs (CAEM) to “guarantee” the import of spare parts necessary for the industry. “They are spare parts that are not available in the country,” clarified the sources consulted.
As reported days ago by INDEC, Mining production grew 10.3% in July, in relation to the same month of 2022, while the accumulated January-July increased 10.9% year-on-year. This increase was mainly driven by the “Salt extraction” indexwhich recorded a increase of 84.8% year-on-yearand that of “Extraction of minerals for the manufacture of chemical products” (linked to lithium), which went up 49.7%.
Meanwhile, according to a report from the Ministry of Mining, mining exports last month were US$377 millionand they advanced US$2,321 million in the accumulated of the year.
However, one of the bottlenecks in the sector were the SIRA. Obtaining permits to import was one of the premises that Roberto Cacciola, the new president of CAEM, he proposed as soon as he took office. And based on a “work process” with the National Mining Secretariat in charge of Fernanda Avila and the General Directorate of Customs, of William Michelthe approval of the SIRAS presented by the mining industry.
The negotiations that are now bearing fruit began last Thursday, with a meeting between the directors of CAEM, Ávila and Michelwhere – according to the Government – the “need for the sector to be able to access essential goods and inputs to maintain productive continuity and the pace of construction of new projects.”
Cacciola Upon taking office he had warned about the lack of dollars to import. “The mining It is a purely export sector, if we do not produce because we lack inputs or services from abroad, we are not shooting ourselves in the foot. Because ultimately We lose more by not exporting than by being authorized to import”, highlighted the manager with more than 26 years of experience in the entity. “The sector exports for 100 and imports for less than 7. So we have to be intelligent and realize that putting the 7 at risk puts the 100 at risk”he added.
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Mining is the sixth Argentine export complex and is characterized by being a net contributor of dollars to the country, with a more than positive trade balance: for every 1 dollar imported, 10 are generated in exports. In the Ministry of Mining of the Nation they remember that They are the second sector with the most imports approved so far in Sergio Massa’s administration, behind the automotive sector.
It is no coincidence that this signal comes at a time when more foreign currency is needed in the coffers of the central bank. In fact, Ambit was able to know that from now on the national government will carry out a “close monitoring” of all mining projects to ensure that the local industry supplies mining, and that nothing stops it. In the sector they are already exultant about the success of the efforts: “They will be allowed to import spare parts that do not exist in the national industry quickly.”
“Thanks to the speed of the officials’ efforts, a regularization of the approvals of imports by companies in the sector has already begun,” an official statement highlighted.
Lithium boom: by 2025 it could export more than US$7 billion
Many of the inputs demanded by the industry correspond to the lithium. It is that today, white gold, became the star of the sector with 49 projects in the portfolio in Argentina, of which three are already producing and exporting and two more will soon do so. Until last July, lithium carbonate had accumulated exports of US$421 million. That figure implied that Lithium exports grew 40% year-on-year, the fastest growth for the sector. Historically, gold and silver have been the protagonists of Argentine mining exports, however, today The Lithium Complex went from 6% of mining exports in 2021 to 18% in 2022.
According to Ezequiel Vega, honorary ambassador BRICS and sector analyst, by 2025, lithium could export more than US$7 billion, taking the average FOB export prices of lithium carbonate for the first half of 2023 and using the tentative production start dates of the projects, both factors subject to change. The liberation of the SIRA It’s a great first step.
Source: Ambito
