Catamarca mining projects spark environmental and social protests

Mining activities in Catamarca, Argentina, have sparked intense controversy due to environmental liabilities and a lack of effluent controls. Local residents, social organizations, and environmental assemblies have denounced new extractive projects for threatening freshwater sources and increasing ecological vulnerability.

A major point of conflict has emerged in the Sierras de Ancasti regarding the ‘El Alto’ lithium project. Municipal Mayor Randolfo Piñero stated that provincial mining agencies proceeded with authorizations and territorial management without formally notifying local authorities or conducting necessary prior consultations with riparian populations.

In response, a multi-sector march was held in Plaza 25 de Mayo, involving leftist political figures, the SUTECA teachers' union, and retired citizens. Protesters criticized the deregulation of territory and the handover of natural resources, warning that large-scale extraction damages ecosystems and threatens family economies. In western communities, concerns focus on mining tailings and industrial waste contaminating groundwater and river basins essential for livestock and agriculture.