NEED TO KNOW
Argentina’s geology
Argentina is rich in copper, gold, silver, zinc, lead, molybdenum, iron ore, lithium and more. Ricardo Martínez, president of exploration association GEMERA, believes that despite their big price tags, Argentina’s copper and copper-gold porphyries will attract more investment over the next few years. He also believes the Northwest and Patagonia regions will be popular areas to look for silver. Some of the country’s prospective regions include: Northwest Argentina: Jujuy, Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja and Tucuman provinces Mineral districts in this area include the lithium triangle, which extends into Chile and Bolivia, and hosts Orocobre’s Salar de Olaroz JV and FMC Corp.’s Salar del Hombre Muerto. In Jujuy province, the Bolivian silver-tin-zinc belt hosts Silver Standard Resources’ Pirquitas and Golden Arrow Resources’ Chinchillas. Central-West Argentina: San Juan, San Luis, Mendoza and Neuquen provinces The region includes the mountainous Cordilleran region that hosts Barrick Gold’s Pascua Lama and Veladero, Glencore’s El Pachon, Yamana Gold’s Gualcamayo, and Austral Gold’s Casposo. Patagonia: Rio Negro, Chubut and Santa Cruz provinces This southern region includes the Deseado Massif volcanic plateau in Santa Cruz, which hosts high-grade precious metals mines such as Cerro Vanguardia, Hunt Mining’s Martha, Hochschild Mining and McEwen Mining’s San José, and Yamana Gold’s Cerro Moro.
Credit: Steffen Hagemann, Fogliata, A.S. and Hagemann, S.G., 2010, Gold Systems in Argentina, SGA News, No. 28.
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