[REVISION HISTORY]

Catamarca mining sector development and local impacts

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2026-11-07 21:56 UTC → 2026-11-08 00:16 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The province of Catamarca is implementing initiatives to modernize and centralize its mining sector, including the launch of an interactive geological-mining map by Catamarca Minera y Energética (CAMYEN) and the establishment of a ‘Mining Pole’ in San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca. However, industry expansion has triggered escalating social and environmental conflict. In the Sierras de Ancasti, the ‘El Alto’ lithium project has faced backlash, with Mayor Randolfo Piñero alleging that provincial agencies authorized projects without notifying local authorities or consulting riparian populations. This has led to protests regarding the potential for mining tailings to contaminate groundwater. Tensions intensified following Governor Raúl Jalil’s commercial tour to Australia, prompting communities in eastern Catamarca to declare a state of alert. Residents demand a halt to prospecting until the Ministry of Mining ensures genuine citizen participation and independent assessments of water requirements. Recent developments show worsening ecological risks. Local producers, indigenous communities, and socio-environmental assemblies have denounced soil degradation, erosion, and salinization caused by earthmoving and vegetation removal. In regions such as Antofagasta de la Sierra, Belén, and Andalgalá, residents report the deterioration of streams and the salinization of aquifers. Critics allege that the Ministry of Water, Energy, and Environment is prioritizing permits over strict auditing, often relying on self-reported data from mining firms. Protesters have accused the Jalil administration of relaxing oversight of transnational companies to accelerate production, leading to calls for the precautionary suspension of new permits in fragile basins. Socio-environmental collectives from Antofagasta de la Sierra, Tinogasta, and Andalgalá have recently intensified their questioning of transnational mining impacts on water resources. During regional basin meetings, representatives expressed concerns that brine extraction and forced evaporation are depleting underground aquifers at rates incompatible with natural recharge.

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