Overview
- Provincial regulators called a hybrid public hearing for the Don Luis lithium exploration on 29 November in Malargüe’s Thesaurus center with online participation, with registration open from 4 to 27 November.
- The Cobre San Romeleo copper project will go to a hybrid public hearing on 6 December near the site in Malargüe with a Thesaurus transmission point and online access, and sign-ups from 5 November to 3 December.
- Deputies convened a joint committee session to review the DIAs for PSJ Cobre Mendocino and Malargüe Distrito Minero Occidental II along with related mining bills, then recessed to resume the DIA discussion on Monday.
- The royalty bill under debate aligns with the national 3% ‘boca mina’ cap, proposes progressive rates tied to operating margins, allocates 12% of collections to participating municipalities and 88% to the province, and reserves 15% of the provincial share for a socioenvironmental fund.
- Technical reports in the Don Luis file deem the exploration phase procedurally acceptable with added mitigation and monitoring, and the hearing resolutions require project proponents to fund logistics such as transport, connectivity, security and sanitation.