The Argentine mining activity reached a new historical record in May and consolidated its strong expansion during 2026, with a year-on-year growth of 9.2% and a monthly increase of 0.4% in the seasonally adjusted measurement, according to the latest official data published by INDEC.
Additionally, the trend-cycle index advanced 0.3% compared to April and reached its highest level since the beginning of the statistical series. In the first five months of the year, mining production has already accumulated a growth of 7.8% compared to the same period in 2025.
The post from the Minister of Economy on the social network X
The Minister of Economy, Luis "Toto" Caputo, celebrated the numbers and highlighted the record achieved by the sector. "MINING ACTIVITY REACHED A NEW HISTORICAL RECORD IN MAY (and Paredes made an incredible play," the official wrote on his social media while following the match of the Argentine National Team.
One of the main drivers of growth was crude oil, whose production increased by 19.2% year-on-year and has accumulated an expansion of 17.6% in the first five months of the year. Natural gas also showed positive numbers, with an improvement of 5.5% compared to May 2025.
The performance of the unconventional sector stood out again within Argentine energy production. The extraction of unconventional crude oil grew by 38.5% year-on-year and reached 3.05 million cubic meters, while unconventional natural gas advanced by 14.2%.
The expansion also reached non-metallic minerals and application rocks, which recorded a jump of 42.9% year-on-year and accumulated an improvement of 34.2% during 2026. Within this segment, the extraction of minerals intended for the manufacture of chemical products increased by 54.2%.
Mining activity records historic highs with Javier Milei
Lithium maintained its strong growth. In May, 11,561.7 tons of lithium carbonate were benefited, 45.1% more than during the same month of the previous year. In the accumulated January-May period, production grew by 47.5%, consolidating the expansion of one of the strategic sectors for Argentine exports.
For its part, the extraction of metallic minerals advanced by 1.5% year-on-year. The production of silver, gold, and their concentrates grew by 3.2%, while the category that includes iron, copper, lead, zinc, and molybdenum recorded a strong increase of 41.9%.
