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Energy
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General Market Commentary
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General Energy
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General Market Commentary
Exclusive Interview: Argentina promotes its mineral sector at PDAC
During the recent PDAC Convention in Toronto, Carolina Sanchez, Secretary of Mining Policy,
Ministry of Production and Labor, Argentina, spoke to Resource World about her country’s efforts to grow their mining industry.
RESOURCE WORLD: Vanadium has been attracting attention lately. Is Argentina prospective for vanadium deposits?
CAROLINA SANCHEZ: Yes. There are orogenic deposits of vanadium at the northwest and in the central Andean region of Argentina.
RW: Sometimes vanadium deposits also contain uranium. Is that a problem or if it is a problem, can that problem be solved?
CS: There are deposits with and without uranium in Argentina. A company called Blue Sky Uranium Corp. is currently advancing its Amarillo Grande vanadium-uranium property in Rio Negro province. This is a uranium deposit with vanadium credits – in this case of sedimentary origin. This project has a positive PEA with very good potential. Yes, the two metals can be separated. Blue Sky has other uranium projects in Argentina as well.
RW: Could you talk a little bit about lithium? Is Argentina a good place to explore for lithium?
CS: Yes. In the last three years, exploration budgets for lithium have increased by about 900%.
Most of the investments are for brine resources [salars] but there is also hard rock spodumene exploration as well.
RW: I know there are a few Canadian companies in Argentina. Are you trying to attract other countries to invest in mining projects in Argentina as well?
CS: Yes, we are seeing companies from different countries now arriving in Argentina. These include groups from France, Germany, Korea, China, Australia and Canada.
RW: For all those countries to be interested in Argentina, your government must be making efforts to attract them. Do you have some incentives for explorers to come from all over the world to your country?