The provincial governor is participating in the main global mining fair with the aim of seeking projects and investments in the mining hub. Canada is once again hosting the PDAC, the sector's most emblematic exhibition.
By Panorama Minero
The governor of San Juan, Marcelo Orrego, participated in the opening of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada 2024 (PDAC). It is the largest fair of mining exploration companies worldwide, taking place in Canada until March 6, where the mining potential of San Juan will be showcased. He reiterated that mining is a state policy and highlighted the importance of copper.
At the opening ceremony, Orrego said: "It is a privilege to be at the mining fair. We are convinced that to be able to carry out mining, we inevitably have to restore the exchange rate, have the possibility of developing legal certainty more strongly every day, and, of course, it also has to do with generating trust. San Juan is a province that has almost 90,000 square kilometers, 83% are mountains, 14% is desert, and only 3% is cultivated. When we talk about mountains, we inevitably also talk about mining. It is a huge opportunity. I say it's a huge opportunity because it's what the world needs."
He also added that he is "convinced that we must move forward so that definitively, the people develop mining and feel comfortable and happy." "I believe that what is coming to the world has to do with electromobility, the energy transition will happen. In San Juan, we have world-class projects: in the case of gold production, for example, we have the Veladero mine. But what comes within this transition implies the development of two extremely important minerals: copper and lithium."
Regarding this, he pointed out: "Copper is related to the strategic minerals, copper is related to what is coming, copper cannot be replaced. And the truth is that of the eight world-class copper projects in Argentina, five are located in the province of San Juan. Some of them already have the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and there are also others that are close to being able to have that statement as part of the evaluations we are conducting."
The governor is accompanied by the Minister of Mining of the province, Juan Pablo Perea, who will also be participating in the activities and positioning the province to the world.
The governor's itinerary on the first day of the expo included an intense agenda of meetings with representatives of companies exploring in San Juan and coming from the United States, Australia, and Canada, among others. "These meetings with representatives from various parts of the world were a good opportunity to learn about short-term exploration plans and reaffirm the centrality of San Juan in Argentine mining," said provincial sources. In addition, as part of the agenda activities, Orrego continued with a tour of the international expo stands, which concluded with a presentation of the province alongside the Minister of Mining, Juan Pablo Perea, at the so-called "Argentina Day."
The Argentina Day was an event where the Argentine Foreign Ministry and the Federal Investment Council organized a presentation on the Argentine mining potential, which had the exclusive opening of Governor Orrego, the only governor present, before an audience full of attendees interested in knowing the processes that Argentine mining is experiencing today.
It is worth noting that the governor recently participated in the Argentine-German Critical Minerals Meeting, which took place at the Argentine Embassy in Berlin, Germany, last month. The main objective of that event was to seek cooperation in investment for mining and renewable energies, with the sole purpose of further consolidating San Juan as a mining land.
During his stay in Canada, it is expected that the agenda will advance with new bilateral meetings with owners of the main projects operating in San Juan. They will also hold meetings with officials from major mining companies in the world who have expressed their intentions to contact the governor, along with meetings with sectoral representatives from the governments of the United States, India, and France, interested in knowing the mining potential of the province.
