In March 2024, Mendoza's mining push began under the second term of Radical Governor Alfredo Cornejo. The new governor aimed to make the mining industry, particularly exploration for copper, one of the pillars of his administration.
By Panorama Minero
It Was at Last Year’s PDAC When He Announced Two Concrete Measures. The first measure was the reform of the Mining Procedure Code, and the second was the creation of Malargüe Western Mining District (MDMO), an area located in southern Mendoza, where they advanced with a new format to streamline the approval process for exploration projects under the current legislation.
One year after this push, the Mendoza governor reported that the best thing done in the first year was “adapting the regulations to the new times of mining and technological advances.” He also highlighted “the process of environmental impact reports (from MDMO) in technical plans, with sectorial participation and a public hearing that was not politicized.”
Cornejo also stated that he expects mining to result in an increase in the average salary in Mendoza in the medium term, with a rise in revenues both in exploration and exploitation processes. On this latter point, it is worth remembering that at the start of 2025, the adjusted environmental impact report for PSJ Cobre Mendocino was presented, a project that aims to obtain permits to produce copper in the town of Uspallata.
Within his plan, the Mendoza governor emphasized the importance of boosting local mining suppliers. “I hope that in the medium term, a supplier chain will develop even better. Not only to work in Mendoza but to work globally. And I believe we are close to achieving this, because there are already suppliers working in Chile, Peru, and also in the province of San Juan,” he said.
He added, “We need to increase the capacity of Mendoza’s people to provide services. To build companies that not only serve current mining operations but also offer local jobs in the future.”
Cornejo adjusted his schedule to be in Toronto during a busy period in Mendoza due to the National Harvest Festival (Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia). His goal for being there was to confirm, through the province’s highest authority, the commitment his administration has to the development of mining at all its stages.
How Much Progress Has Mendoza Made?
It is important to remember that in Mendoza, Law 7.722 establishes that environmental impact statements (for exploration or exploitation), once they have received technical approval, must be ratified by the legislature (senators and deputies). In this context, the Provincial Executive, together with Impulsa Mendoza S.A. (the company created to promote mining), designed the district to approve projects in batches rather than individually, aiming to streamline a process that is considered slow due to the number of filters.
In concrete terms, one year after the announcements, there are 34 projects that have received legislative approval in MDMO, and another 29 are ready to begin environmental evaluation. However, although the idea was that the approved projects could start some form of exploration during this summer's campaign, only one of them — for now — has announced progress, while most still depend on new owners or partners to move forward.
In this context, the PDAC 2025 was the essential meeting for Mendoza's officials and the project owners to seek investment. The main challenge they face is the lack of information about an underexplored area. On the other hand, they have the advantage of having already met all the technical and political requirements to begin exploration.
The Status of MDMO Projects
Among the 34 projects that are in a position to begin exploration in Mendoza, the most advanced is El Perdido, owned by the Mendoza-based company AgAuCu. This local company has an exclusive option agreement with the Canadian junior Kobrea Exploration. The contract includes the El Perdido and Elena projects — which are already approved — as well as five other projects that are considered in future batches of the Malargüe mining district. So far, the junior has paid over US$480.000, and if positive results are obtained across all projects, the agreement includes payments of US$6.7 million for 100% ownership of the properties.
El Perdido covers an area of 6,878 hectares and hosts a Cu-Au-Mo porphyry system, but it has not been drilled to date. At the end of February, Kobrea announced that its teams had conducted geological mapping and taken samples, which allowed them to determine the areas where drilling will take place. The geologists mapped previously unidentified hydrothermal breccias covering an area of 1,700 meters by 250 meters, trending north-northwest and crossing the center of the copper porphyry system.
The other 32 projects have mixed fortunes, as some are advancing with the administrative processes needed to begin fieldwork, while others are still seeking investors.
El Seguro is in the hands of the state-owned Impulsa Mendoza, and the company is moving forward with the tendering of the area that served as the flagship for the first stage of MDMO. The Chinese company Hanaq owns the Valenciana, Calmuco, and El Montón projects; the Canadian company Ontario Inc. owns Huemul; and the Mendoza-based Condor Prospecting owns La Meli. In all of these cases, it is expected that the same owners will continue with the prospecting.
There is also the case of the Minue and Cerro de la Virgen projects, which were previously owned by AgAuCu but were acquired by Wincul Argentina S.A., the company that owns the Cerro Amarillo project (the first to be drilled in 17 years during the 2024 campaign). Both are adjacent to the porphyries already in the exploration process.
The remaining 24 projects will require investors or buyers to start development, a key task for the officials and business leaders’ trip to Canada for PDAC 2025. Within this group of projects, 19 are in the hands of Apeleg S.A. The results obtained by this company in the coming months will, in a way, set the tone for Mendoza's exploration campaign in the 2025-2026 season, which should mark the beginning of serious fieldwork in the Malargüe mining district.
