Li-related News/Articles/Reports, page-2912

Little summary of recent efforts being made by the Argentinian government to boost the lithium industry.

Argentina going all out to get lithium project up and running.  Sergio Massa, Minister of Economy, describes how his administration is planning to help local lithium producers accelerate their projects.  He then sets of on a tour of the US to talk lithium.

29th August 2022 [source] The government is preparing a decree that aims to encourage investments, especially in lithium. Massa prepares a U.S. tour to attract more miners.

The Government is determined to make mining one of the pillars of the collection and, from that perspective, will apply incentives to accentuate the landing of companies in the sector. In that sense, the ruling party is working on a decree that will guarantee mining companies free access to the dollar for up to 25 percent of what they export in exchange for a series of conditions. Among them, the obligation to expand investments in already operational deposits and, simultaneously, the deepening of the "local purchase" of inputs and services. The focus will be on accentuating lithium extraction projects.

The official intention is to avoid the closure of operational mines and, in parallel, to accelerate the opening of others in order to step harder on the world mining map. Today, the activity is in fourth place in terms of generating foreign exchange for the public coffers.
Apart from the easing of the trap, the Government is also considering implementing tax exemptions and measures for the tax benefit of companies, such as, for example, the refund of VAT according to the type of project.


Following the US tour by Sergio Massa and the Secretary of Mining, Fernanda Avila, she talks about their trip

19th September 2022 [source]


The Secretary of Mining, Fernanda Ávila, was part of the official delegation that accompanied the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, to the United States. Recently arrived in the country, he spoke with EconoJournal to take stock of that trip and analyze the agenda of the Executive Branch for the mining sector.   She described the pricing policy for lithium and how the copper exploration sector is doing.

Lithium was a central theme in Ávila's meeting with José Fernández, undersecretary of the State Department for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, an official in charge of the U.S. government's mining issues. Ávila said that in addition to talking about the interest in critical minerals (lithium, cobalt, graphite, among others, which have high economic and strategic value), they talked about "the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP), recently launched by the government of the United States, and the ways in which we will work that initiative, especially considering the enormous potential that our country's lithium resources have. ". The MSP is an initiative by the Joe Biden administration to secure access to critical minerals in the U.S. dispute with China, another major global lithium claimant. "There is a lot of interest from different countries around what they categorize as critical minerals," he explained. He added: "Working in coordination with other countries is a central part of the sector's development agenda."

What is your assessment of the trip you made with Sergio Massa to the United States?

Economy Minister Sergio Massa is doing a very significant job of bringing order to the Argentine economy. The results and repercussions of the official mission to Washington are a clear example that all this effort is having results. At the strictly mining level, we held meetings with representatives of companies of global relevance such as Rio Tinto, who ratified the progress of the investment plan of 190 million dollars for an initial production of lithium in the Salar de Rincón located in Salta, while Livent confirmed the total investment of 1,500 million dollars for the expansion of its productive capacity. This will allow it to go from a production of 20 thousand tons of lithium carbonate equivalent to 60 thousand before 2030. The confidence of investors was evident and that is something very relevant for the country.


Sounds like the government is making a solid effort to support the rapid expansion of carbonate production.  That can only help AGY's expansion plans.  That mining permit should be coming soon.