Mendoza Senate in Argentina Approves Environmental Impact Statement for Copper Mine Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 6, the Senate of Mendoza Province, Argentina, approved the bill ratifying the Environmental Impact Statement (DIA) for the San Romeleo copper mine project. The project will next be submitted to the Provincial Chamber of Deputies for review. The project is located in the Río Barrancas district of the Malargüe area in Mendoza Province. The mining rights and project filing entity is LABSA S.A., and AREX Mining is planned to be responsible for its operation.

San Romeleo is located in the Puesto Aguas de Isaac area, approximately 160 kilometers south of the city of Malargüe, with a planned investment of approximately USD 3 million and a designed ore processing capacity of 40 tonnes per day. Project materials previously published by the Mendoza provincial government show that the estimated ore body reserves are approximately 257,000 tonnes, with an average copper grade of 1.29%, and the mine life is calculated to be nearly 20 years under the current development plan.

The project plans to construct production facilities in two phases. The first phase involves mining and processing copper ore to produce copper oxide, with an estimated annual output of approximately 222 tonnes; the subsequent phase plans to add deep processing facilities to further convert copper oxide into copper sulfate pentahydrate, with a planned annual output of approximately 710 tonnes. The project's environmental technical documents clearly state that the first-phase development target is copper oxide production.

The project's environmental impact assessment procedure has previously completed technical review and public participation stages. The Mendoza Provincial Mining Bureau and the Environmental Management and Inspection Bureau organized a public hearing on the environmental impact report in 2025, and the relevant filing documents, technical opinions, and water resource assessments were included in the project approval file. The provincial administrative department subsequently submitted the project's Environmental Impact Statement to the legislative body, and according to Mendoza Province's metal mining approval procedure, it is subject to ratification by both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

Following the completion of this Senate vote, the bill ratifying the Environmental Impact Statement will enter review by the Mendoza Provincial Chamber of Deputies. Only after completing legislative approval and subsequent administrative procedures may the project proceed with mine construction and production facility implementation according to the filed processing plan of 40 tonnes per day.