Ministry of Productive Development, Mining Agency | Note No. 27747563 to the Argentine Chamber of Mining Companies – Interpretation of Administrative Decision No. 450/2020 – Mining exploration and prospecting exempted from preventive and compulsory social isolation.
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Mining Law Department Report | Ministry of Productive Development, Mining Agency | Note No. 27747563 to the Argentine Chamber of Mining Companies – Interpretation of Administrative Decision No. 450/2020 – Mining exploration and prospecting exempted from preventive and compulsory social isolation
Dear Sir or Madam,
Initially, Decree No. 260 of 03.12.2020 extended in our country the declaration of public emergency regarding health matters. After that, Decree No. 297 of 03.19.2020 ordered the social, preventive, and compulsory isolation (“quarantine”) for all people, with the exception of people dedicated to activities and services regarded as essential during the quarantine.
Back then, mining was not included in the list of essential activities exempted from quarantine. Then, Administrative Decision No. 429/2020 of 03.20.2020 included as an essential activity those “tasks related to the maintenance of environmental protection for mining”, and Administrative Decision No. 450/2020 of 04/02/2020 included “activities related to the production, distribution and commercialization of wood and mining.”
In the mining industry, there is a big difference between mining exploitation and mining exploration. While the first refers to extraction and sale, exploration refers to the review and analysis, which requires years of investment. In order to avoid a misleading interpretation, the mining secretariat issued Note 27747563 dated 04.24.2020, addressed to the Argentine Chamber of Mining Companies (CAEM), indicating that “the mining production process is comprised of various interrelated activities” which include “the exploration, and prospecting”.
This is a positive clarification since it dissipates certain questions from the brief terms of these emergency regulations.
Do not hesitate to contact us should you require any further information on this matter.
Sincerely,
Marcos Moreno Hueyo