The sector could reach 40 billion dollars annually by 2035.
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Argentina projects a historic jump in its mining exports as a direct consequence of economic reforms and deregulation promoted by the Government of Javier Milei.
This was confirmed by a report by the international rating agency Moody's, which estimates that the sector could increase its foreign sales by 700% and reach USD 40 billion annually by 2035.
The report notes that the country is rapidly moving from a situation marked by restrictions and high risk to a scenario of international competitiveness that positions it as one of the main destinations for global mining investment. This change occurs in a context where obtaining critical minerals is becoming a strategic priority for governments and companies around the world.
President Javier Milei.
“The main mining projects we identified in Argentina could attract more than $50 billion in capital investment and increase revenues from mining exports to USD 40 billion by 2035 (vs. USD 5 billion in 2025),” said Moody's in its report, marking the magnitude of the transformation the sector is going through
.
One of the central factors that explain this shift is the reform package promoted by the current libertarian administration, especially economic deregulation and the implementation of the Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI). This scheme offers fiscal stability for 30 years and competitive conditions that seek to attract large scale projects
.
The rating agency highlights the concrete impact of these measures on the profitability of projects. “In a mining project with 30 years of useful life, savings can exceed 10% per year compared to the previous framework in Argentina and with other consolidated mining jurisdictions such as Chile and Peru. We believe that this could be enough to attract marginal investment from more established mining jurisdictions,” he said.
President Javier Milei.
Moody's report
Lithium appears to be one of the main drivers of this growth. Moody's identifies 14 projects that are already beyond the exploration phase, with the potential to generate more than USD 8 billion in capital investment. These developments would increase annual production to more than 500,000 tons of equivalent lithium carbonate, a figure that represents approximately 15 times the levels recorded in 2022
.
The report also highlights that this initial momentum paves the way for an even greater expansion in the copper sector, a resource where the country currently has a marginal presence but could become a key source of income.
“Early successes in lithium open the door to long-term copper projects, which could offer transformative growth potential for producers. Today, the country is practically irrelevant in copper production, but this is changing rapidly with several projects that take advantage of RIGI and are progressing through different engineering stages,” Moody's explained.
In total, eight copper projects that are already moving beyond exploration could attract close to USD 44 billion in investments and increase annual production to approximately 1.2 million tons. This volume would generate exports of about USD 26 billion by 2035, far exceeding the current value of
mining exports.
In addition to the impact on foreign trade, the development of the sector will have direct effects on employment. Moody's notes that “as the mining projects approved at RIGI begin their construction phase, the sector will contribute to the creation of
jobs.”
In this way, the new economic framework promoted by the Government of Milei positions mining as one of the pillars of future growth. Structural reforms, fiscal stability and investment incentives are transforming the country's productive profile and consolidating Argentina as a relevant player in the global market
