Malargüe: What progress has been made in the Western Mining District?

A year ago, the provincial government announced the Malargüe Western Mining District , a 20,000 square kilometer area where it is understood that there is great potential to find copper , a mineral with high global demand because it is essential for the energy transition .

The objective of creating this district was to ensure that private exploration initiatives would be submitted to the Legislature in groups for approval of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), thus streamlining the process. Thus, the first package of 34 projects located in the MDMO was presented in October to the House of Laws, and the EIS was approved in November.

The public hearing for the second phase, which includes 27 additional projects, is scheduled for May 10. The plan is to continue moving forward in this way—the third group of projects is already being assembled—because the area encompasses nearly 200 properties. In addition, the possibility of launching an eastern mining district is being analyzed.

The provincial director of mining, Jerónimo Shantal , explained that companies have been submitting information on the 34 projects in the first phase, and that three are more advanced because they had previous surveys. He added that this is an area that has been prospected for 30 years, and geological data is available in certain areas.

This is the case in El Perdido (owned by the Canadian company Kobrea), El Seguro (owned by Impulsa Mendoza), and Huemul (owned by Ontario Inc., also from Canada). However, the first snowfall in Malargüe in March forced the acceleration of ongoing work to make as much progress as possible before having to abandon the site for the winter; with the exception of Huemul, where access is possible year-round.

The official stated that the Mining Directorate issued a resolution authorizing the Environmental Management Unit (UGA), comprised of sectoral agencies involved in the Environmental Impact Assessment process, to intervene because the companies have submitted technical environmental information related to the road layout in El Seguro and El Perdido, with the intention of completing them this season. Currently, the initial exploration work can only be reached by horseback, which restricts the type of operations that can be performed.

Regarding the remaining 31 projects, Shantal commented that they are submitting paperwork and moving forward with expanding the baseline. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) allows them to enter the properties and tour the site to conduct surveys, including the site-specific environmental assessment (which is among the first obligations for companies).

Julio Pulisich is one of the owners of Apeleg SA, a mining company that owns 20 of the 34 properties in the first phase of MDMO. He emphasizes that they are a Mendoza-based company with 30 years of experience in mining and that they saw the opportunity for several projects in the mining district and have already begun work on some of them.

The first project, they expected to begin in December, but had to submit documentation and were only able to get started in January. He emphasized that in two projects—almost three—the copper is found on the surface, not in rock, but for kilometers. He clarified that this doesn't provide any guarantees, but emphasized that it's very encouraging to have confirmed the potential.

At the end of March, they submitted two projects to the Toronto Stock Exchange to access capital to boost the exploration process, and they have held meetings with several Mendoza, national, and international companies interested in moving forward.

Pulisich commented that in the days leading up to the first snowfall in Malargüe, they returned to the field, and the geologists made the most of their time. Now, with the samples they took, they are beginning their work in the office, along with planning how they will resume field work as soon as conditions allow them to return.

Drilling will begin by the end of the year or in 2026, but he indicated that they are very excited about having found copper on the surface, without the need for drilling.

The Australian-owned company Cóndor Prospecting has been in the country for almost 10 years, with operations based in Mendoza and operating from the province in San Juan, Salta, and even San Luis. Juan Cruz Cardoso, the company's legal representative , commented that they planned to begin with a fairly limited exploration activity, with about five geologists in a couple of pickup trucks.

The company's property in MDMO was included in the first EIA, but there was an overlap of land with another company. He emphasized that the provincial Mining Directorate was very proactive in promoting conciliation and offering a space for meetings, which helped reach an amicable solution. He also highlighted that they found openness to dialogue with the other party and reached an agreement in less than three months, when these processes can take years.

In any case, having a team with years of experience and contacts with suppliers made it possible for them to begin exploration as soon as they finalized the agreement in the file, albeit on a somewhat more limited scale than they had initially planned. He stated that investors are very eager because they believe there is great potential that the exploration activity will confirm.

Guillermo Pensado, president of the Mendoza Mining Chamber (Camem) , considered the presentation of the district to be a very good initiative by Impulsa Mendoza and the provincial government to encourage the exploration process. This is due, in part, to the procedures required for mining activity and also because legislative approval is required in Mendoza. The development of exploration EIA packages has accelerated these times.

He added that this has been highly valued because the area's potential is already known, as it is a continuation of the large copper deposits on the Chilean side. He explained that he is dedicated to prospecting and the presence of the mineral on the surface was already known, something that "is extremely rare to see and speaks highly of the district."

He explained that in northern Chile, there is a rock formation that contains copper, but finding the deposit is difficult. He added that the Cordilleran Plan had already identified areas of interest, with "incredible potential," in the 1960s in that sector of Malargüe.