At a time when the economy needs to pile up dollars, the lithium exports are presented as an opportunity for the country and also for the mining companies.
But, to the same extent that the intentions to exploit the mineral grow -with the increase in prices on the international market- Questions about the regulatory framework are growing of the activity and approx the “spill” rent of the so-called “white gold” to the provinces containing it: Salta, Catamarca and Jujuy.
On the one hand, the national government removed the export refunds that the mineral had. And, on the other hand, the provinces want to keep a larger share of revenue,
A new meeting of the Lithium Board was held on Tuesday at the Catamarca house in Buenos Aires. The three northern provinces, the Secretary of Strategic Affairs of the Nation and the company Y-TEC attended. which is part of a project for the production of cells and batteries that will be inaugurated this year in La Plata.
“During the meeting of the Council, chaired by the governor of Jujuy Gerardo Morales, it was agreed on the need to implement mechanisms for lithium-producing companies to allocate a percentage of this production to industrialisation and the added value in the Argentine Republic, especially in the provinces that produce the resource facing the challenge of electromobility and the need for renewable energy storage”said a statement from the Lithium Board.
According to sources who attended the meeting, “the provinces have expressed their concern do not participate in extraordinary profits obtained by companies, by the remarkable growth of the international price, for which it is evaluating what measures to take“, he explained.
For his part, Governor Gerardo Morales said: “We have decided to start a debate and negotiation with companies and implement measures so that as much lithium as possible remains in the Argentine Republic for its industrialization for value-added projects”.
The official added that he raised the issue because “there is an exorbitant increase in lithium prices internationally that is not consistent with the revenues that the liturgical provinces are receiving, a topic we will discuss with companies in Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca,” the official said in the statement.
The national government also seeks some of the income. By chance, it has just eliminated the five percentage point rebate that applied to exports. He did so with decree 57/2023 published on Monday in the Official Gazette.
This export refund, which corresponded exclusively to materials produced in the territory of the provinces of Catamarca, Jujuy and Salta, from the mineral substances extracted, was established in 1993. Subsequently, in 1998, lithium was included among these substances, the lithium oxide, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride and lithium carbonate.
However, according to the decree, “currently this sector of the economy registers exponential growth whose global demand has led to a significant increase in prices international resources related to lithium, with the consequent improvement in terms of competitiveness”.
For this, he stressed that “it is necessary to make adjustments to the refund policy for the export of mineral substances and derived products included in the relevant tariff headings of the common nomenclature of Mercosur (NCM).”
In 2022, lithium exports ended the year with a record level, close to US$700 million, with a volume similar to the previous year’s production, approximately 27,500 tons.
Another measure that worries entrepreneurs and which has come to light in recent days is the approval of a law in the province of La Rioja, which declares lithium as strategic natural resource, declares research, exploration and exploitation to be in the public interest, e suspends permits for 120 days of mining concessions in the province.
The Argentine Chamber of Mining Entrepreneurs has expressed its concern because it understands that the measure “has a serious impact on the country’s mining sector as a whole”.
Source: Clarin
