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Mendoza will be included for the first time in Argentina’s Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Country Report, covering the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years. The report will introduce a methodological change enabling the collection of data on direct employment, wages, social security contributions and purchases of goods and services from local suppliers by mining projects that have not yet entered production.
By Panorama Minero
The report is scheduled for publication in December. With its inclusion, Mendoza will join the provinces already participating in EITI Argentina’s subnational framework: Catamarca, Jujuy, Río Negro, Salta, San Juan and Santa Cruz.
The change stems from the Scoping, Materiality and Systematic Disclosure Report, prepared for EITI Argentina by consulting firms M4D and Romano Group, with financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The study identified the economic and employment contributions of projects during the exploration and preparation stages, before the start of commercial production.
Based on these findings, EITI Argentina expanded the scope of its forthcoming report. The number of mining companies included in the national analysis increased from 13 to 19.
Inclusion of Exploration-Stage Projects
Most of Mendoza’s metal mining projects are at the exploration stage. Malargüe Distrito Minero Occidental accounts for part of this activity, including the US$4 million exploration programme that BHP is financing for Kobrea at El Destino during the 2026/2027 season.
Meanwhile, PSJ Cobre Mendocino, located in Uspallata, is progressing through the pre-construction stage.
The previous methodology, focused on production and payments made by companies, did not cover activities at projects that had not yet entered production to the same extent.
The new framework will allow information on employment, remuneration and supplier contracting to be included during these stages.
From Joining EITI in 2024 to the Brussels Conference
Argentina joined the EITI Standard in 2019, while Mendoza formally joined in 2024, committing to provide information on mining and hydrocarbon activities for the national report.
The initiative is implemented in 55 countries and brings together governments, companies and civil society organisations.
Mendoza’s inclusion in the forthcoming Country Report was accompanied by the participation of the province’s Director of Mining, Jerónimo Shantal, in the 10th EITI Global Conference, held in Brussels, Belgium.
The conference brought together more than 1,000 participants from 50 countries under the theme “Transparency for Shared Prosperity”.
Topics addressed included public information disclosure, responsible investment and the distribution of benefits derived from natural resources.
According to Shantal, Mendoza’s participation was aimed at learning from international experiences in extractive industry transparency and identifying tools that could be applied to the provincial management of mineral resources.
The Government of Mendoza also linked the availability of public information to legal certainty and investment attraction.
With the publication of the fifth Country Report, scheduled for December, Mendoza will contribute information to the EITI system on employment, wages and suppliers associated with mining activities, including those related to projects that have not yet commenced commercial production.