The nation Argentina has been emblematic of South America’s Natural Resources and ecosystem. The natural resources in Argentina which are more mineral resources such as oil, copper, fertile agricultural lands, coal, uranium, etc., have also brought the South American economy to the limelight, especially in Latin America.
Argentina is the planet’s eighth largest nation, the fourth largest in America, with a land mass of about 1,073,500, and the second largest economy in South America behind Brazil.
The mining industry in Argentina concentrates more on the production of fossil fuels and other petroleum refined products which has made the country a huge exporter of petroleum over the years. The industry is located in Patagonia near the port of Comodoro Rivadavia of Salta province.
Aside from petroleum and natural gas, other mineral reserves such as salt, iron ore, uranium, lead zinc, silver, etc., are also worked in this industry.
Table of Contents
Top 7 Natural Resources in Argentina
Without much discussion, here are six top natural resources you could easily find in Argentina:
1. Aluminum
The country Argentina is highly rich in aluminum and has reportedly produced more than 500000 tonnes of aluminum products since 2011 till date through its mining company Aluar.
In 2011 alone, Argentina’s s mining industries were expected to produce more than 400000 tonnes of aluminum products but this expectation fell short as a result of flooding of electrical cabinets and loss of power to the smelter facility of the industry.
The industry reduction plants house 784 electrolytic pots and two semi-fabricated plants located in Chubut province while the extrusion plants are located in Abasto in Buenos Aires province.
In 2011, aluminum products that were produced and exported included pure ingot (56.2%), billets (20.5%), wire rods, primary foundry alloy (10.8%, each) zinc alum (1.7%).
Since 2011, these aluminum products have been exported to the United States, and Mexico, including African, Asian, and European countries.
2. Copper
The mining of the mineral resource copper has increased in Argentina, especially in the year 2011 in which about 38 million metric tons (Mt) of copper ore was mined at Mineral alumbrera LTD- popular mining industry in Argentina.
By the beginning of the year 2011, about 116,700 tonnes of copper were produced as estimated. This declined to 16% in subsequent years as a result of geotechnical issues encountered, which restricted access to pit high grades and resulted in lower grades of stockpiled ore being processed.
Mineral alumbrera operated three industrial plants in Catarmaca province, including the absorption plant where lithium is extracted from the brine. Of recent, most of the mining industries in Argentina especially Buenos Aires, have commissioned plant investment firms for the production of commercial shipment of copper ore.
3. Crude oil
This is indeed another buoyant natural resource that is largely found in South American countries and has generated much income for the Argentine government over the years.
Mining industries such as Yacimiento petroliferous Fiscales S.A (YPF) and Pan American energy have remained popular and dominant over the years past in the production of petroleum products, especially Natural gas.
As of 2016-2017, these companies produced approximately 73% of petroleum products and accounted for a total of 1,019 oil drilled wells of which 542 were petroleum production wells and 275 were natural gas production wells. Most of these wells drilled, directly belonged to YPF and Pan American Energy.
4. Agricultural farmlands
The fertility of agricultural lands in Argentina has given it an edge over other South American countries in the production of plants and crops of different kinds.
About 10% of the country’s total land is massively cultivated and the capital-intensive sector has been responsible for providing around 7% of the country’s employment as well as more than 50% of the country’s revenue from export.
In the past, the agricultural sector accounted for about 20% of the nation’s GDP, but recently, the sector contributes more than 10% of Argentina’s GDP.
Most of the agricultural lands are owned by private individuals while 15% is owned by foreigners including foods that are produced both processed and unprocessed foods.
In 2011, unprocessed agricultural exports recorded about 25% of the nation’s exports, which totaled about $86 billion while processed agricultural products made up about one-third of the exports in the same year.
5. Tourism
This is another buoyant natural resource that is popular in this nation and has skyrocketed its economy to a high level. The Argentine nation is indeed a tourist center for people from all over the world and has continued to receive visitors as a result of this, especially in 2011 in which she received about 5.8 million visitors.
According to World Economic Forum, in 2017, the tourist sector generated more than $22 billion ( which was about 3.9% of the country’s GDP) and also secured employment for 3.7% of the country’s population, which was about 671,000 people.
6. Silver
Argentina ranks 10 on the silver institute’s list of top-producing silver countries in the world and also hosts two world silver mines: Silver standard pirquitas mine which produced 6.3 million ounces in 2010 and Hochschild mining/Mineral Andes San Jose mine.
In 2016, 645,118 kg of silver was produced in the Southern part of the country in Santa Cruz province of which 200,555 kg was produced by the San Jose mine operated by Minera Santa Cruz.
In 2017, the quantity declined hugely to the point that both the Argentine government and the mining industries incurred losses as a result of this.
7. Lithium
The country has continued to garner huge economic benefits as a result of the massive production of Lithium carbonate. Lithium production has fluctuation over the years going to the record that stated the decrease of Lithium production by 30% from 6498 tons to 4,501 tons in 2016 and also its increase from 24,409 tons to 2,6559 in 2017.
Argentina’ Lithium production is sourced from the Salar de Olaroz mine in juju province and the Selar del hombre Muerto mine in Salta province.
Presently, 12 ongoing lithium projects in Argentina are expected to increase the country’s production to more than 330,000 tonnes of lithium per year and create approximately 3,400 jobs by the end of 2022.
The country’s most fascinating lithium projects under construction are lithium America Corp. of Canada’s Cauchari-Olaroz project, located in the province of Jujuy, and, Enirgi group’s Salar del Rincon project, located in the province of Salta.
List of all Natural Resources in Argentina
Here are the lists of all natural resources you could find in Argentina:
- Copper
- Gold
- Silver
- Aluminum
- Lithium
- Zinc
- Manganese
- Uranium
- Oil
- Farmland
- Zinc
- Iron ore
- Tin
- Lead
- Coal
Conclusion
Having read through the article, it is clear that Argentina’s buoyant economy is a result of its awesome natural resources, especially minerals such as lithium, silver, copper, crude oil, aluminum, etc., which have helped the country’s economy to soar high over the years till now.
The Argentine government has continued to strive to ensure mining industries are provided with enough mining facilities to achieve massive production using these resources.
Top 7 Natural Resources in Argentina – FAQs
What are the top Three Natural Resources in Argentina?
Argentina no doubt has an abundance of natural resources, but the top three remain farmlands, oil and gas, and aluminum.
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