The agreement that has just arrived in the countries that make up Mercosur and the states of the European bloc reactivates in Argentina the search for materials that take away the sleep of the nations that control the production of new technologies worldwide.It happens that, among its articles and postulates, the pact contemplates that the industry of the Old Continent begins to import from this part of the world those rare metals of high quality that today acquires from China and two markets distributed in Africa.Specifically, and as they indicated to iProUP sources that collaborated in the elaboration of the understanding, the agreement strongly reduces the barriers currently in force for the export of these materials from South America. According to the volumes demanded by Europe, there will also be situations in which the sale abroad of these minerals will be made without any type of restriction or tariff pattern.This change includes the extraction of two products that, in line with what is already happening with the defendant lithium, place Argentina in the squad of the few territories with the presence of these elements: the "rare earths" and the coltan.The former comprise a combination of materials such as lanthanum, lutetium, scandium, yttrium, cerium and neodymium, among others, which are only present in very few granitic massifs.In Argentina, from GEMERA, the chamber that groups mining companies exploring in the local square, told iProUP that not only was the existence of "rare earths" proven in provinces such as San Luis, Córdoba or Santiago del Estero, but In addition, there are already requests for exploration permits requested by companies in Canada and Australia.The minerals in question are key compounds for the development of hybrid vehicles, energy-saving lamps, fiber optics, mobile devices and wind turbines, in addition to alloys for batteries in general, magnets, and night vision devices.Coltan, meanwhile, integrates the technology found today in computers of all kinds, flat screen TVs, digital cameras, cell phones and video games. Its use extends to the manufacture of aircraft and also has a presence in the development of nuclear power plants.In Argentina, always according to GEMERA, there is a proven presence of the material in valleys located in San Luis, Salta and Córdoba."The entire Pampas area was evaluated. We are waiting for the results, which could also confirm the existence of coltan in districts located in the province of La Rioja. Without a doubt, there are many possibilities to find more exploitable concentrations in the short term" , he exposed a camera source to iProUP.And he adds: "Coltan knew how to be important in the old exploration programs started by Fabricaciones Militares several decades ago. In the 1970s it was already evaluated how to extract it, then interest was lost."The agreement that has just arrived from the nations of the European bloc and the association that make up Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay ignites a latent extraction and from the Argentine Mining Geological Service (SEGEMAR) assure iProUP that the next two years will be decisive to establish farms with the capacity to supply industrial customers in the Old Continent.European priority"Europe considers a group of 35 minerals essential for its industry that include, precisely, the 'rare earths' and coltan. And it is trying to find alternatives to avoid buying in markets that it already knows and does not meet the requirements in terms of traceability and price that the block companies intend, "Julio Ríos Gómez, head of SEGEMAR, tells iProUP.The expert explains that the main industrial countries of the block set new standards for their purchases with the intention of avoiding the acquisition of minerals such as coltan from areas marked by war, slave or child labor, and drug trafficking.The material in question has, precisely, an evolution as a commercial product marked by violent events and bloodshed, especially in African lands. Thus, the control of the deposits of coltan ignited conflicts such as the internal struggle that hit the Congo between 1998 and 2003, and that ended with the death of more than 5 million people.Ríos Gómez explained that Europe intends, based on policies such as those established in the agreement with Mercosur, to banish its impact on such conflicts."The industrial powers identified the conflict zones and intend to secure the materials but already from territories without those characteristics. That is why the emphasis on all traceability is ahead. They will also implement new measures to avoid the purchase of minerals from piracy," He said.For the representative of SEGEMAR, the removal of tariffs will guarantee the Argentine mineral a competitiveness in terms of price that did not even approach the values ââheld by suppliers such as the aforementioned Congo.The African nation in question has 80 percent of the world's proven reserves, although significant concentrations of the mineral have also been detected in Australia, Rwanda, Venezuela and Brazil.These days, the production of the material barely reaches 1,800 tons in annual terms, a ridiculous figure if one takes into account that the global mobile market moves about 1.6 billion devices in the same period. Coltan is a determining input in the same production.With regard to "rare earths", low-priced access to South American reserves will allow Europe to break with the monopoly in supply that China now has.At present, the Asian giant dominates the extraction and export of the technological input and on more than one occasion it has weighed that position of power to raise the prices of the materials or establish sales quotas according to the convenience of its industrial apparatus."China has come to deny access to these minerals: its power is so strong in that activity. Europe identified possibilities in certain South American countries and that is why it included this aspect in the agreement. This transforms Argentina into an actor. key because it has these critical minerals, "Ríos Gómez said."The local reserves have the same quality that China or Africa offers. The relevant thing will be to be able to meet the quantities of 'rare earths' or coltan demanded by European countries that make new technologies," he added.The Asian power took control of the "rare earths" market in the late 1990s when, by environmental management policy, the United States closed its California Mountain Pass mine. As of that moment, China was made with 90 percent of the world supply of those minerals.Since then, the European bloc and countries of relevance in terms of technological innovation such as Japan, Korea and of course the United States depend on Chinese production, which annually averages the 120,000 tons extracted. The proven Chinese reserves are around 44 million tons.So far this year, according to stock reports, Asian companies that control the export of the input have increased their profits up to 40 percent over the same period but last year. China Minmetals Rare Earth, one of the protagonists of that market, almost doubled the value of its action so far in 2019.The "side B" of all this potential is in the environmental impact generated by the extraction of coltan but especially "rare earths". The exploitation of the latter demands thousands of liters of water, generates gases with dangerous concentrations of sulfur and different acids, and also causes radioactive waste.For its part, the activity around the coltan also produces huge pollution of water and soil, according to various reports from international environmental organizations. The paradox is that both this mineral and the "rare earths" are materials largely intended for the production of "ecological" devices.Verified zonesThe presence of the combination of minerals that make "rare earths" was found in alkaline rocks from different areas of the provinces of Salta, San Luis and Jujuy. However, the greatest potential in terms of eventual deposits is recorded in Santiago del Estero.
In 2005, CONICET researchers verified the presence of these compounds in the vicinity of the town of Jasimampa, in the aforementioned province. The area in question had already been monitored in the 1970s, but at that time the activity was limited to the search for manganese reservoirs."In the north of San Luis, the weather has been working for the detection of 'rare earths' for a long time. At this moment we are defining the areas with the most potential to start promoting private investment. The idea is to value those reserves as soon as possible so that the province can go out to look for opportunities abroad", says the head of SEGEMAR to iProUP.In 2015, and following an article published by iProfesional, a tandem of deputies submitted a request for reports to the Executive Branch regarding the potential extraction of "rare earths" in the central area of ââArgentina and its environmental impact. Precisions were also required on the exploration for the finding of coltan.Both in Santiago del Estero and in the aforementioned Salta, the presence of this last mineral was also located. Something similar happens with Córdoba, Catamarca and La Rioja. The availability of columbite and tantalum, a combination that makes coltan, in points distributed in the Humid Pampa was confirmed by GEMERA less than 5 years ago.After the signing of the agreement with the European Union, what is expected with some impatience in the mining sector is that all these confirmations of the presence of resources give rise to a sustained activity with even political backing.There is also a hurry because, beyond the logical benefit that the pact will bring for the mining segment in general given the tariff easing, the truth is that Brazil also has proven reserves of these materials that seduce the world.