Multiple provinces in mining-rich Argentina are making good on a 2019 promise to mining transparency by officially committing to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
EITI, per BNamericas, now includes Catamarca, Salta, San Juan and Santa Cruz in its ranks of more than 50 countries that are already members. Other Latin American members are Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, while Chile is in the process of applying.
“The incorporation of the four provinces will allow us to advance in a second stage of implementation of the standards, maintaining transparency as the central axis,” mining secretary Fernanda Ávila said in a statement to the news service. Under Argentina’s federal system, the provinces are presently autonomous in managing their own minerals, which includes oil and gas.
The provinces, each of which is home to multiple operations, now must adhere to a work plan designed by a multi-stakeholder group of industry and public sector representatives. All must provide data on how income reaches the government and how this benefits the population, BNA said.
Mining production is concentrated in Argentina in the northwestern provinces of Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca, as well as San Juan and Santa Cruz. There are eight gold-silver mines and three primary silver operations on the region, along with two lithium operations in the northwest.
In 2021, mining exports were US$3.24 billion. The reports submitted identify, by company, how much they paid in income tax, export duties, social security, environmental tax, and tax on bank credits and debits.
Source: BNamericas