GUIDE TO FINANCIAL ASSURANCE FOR MINE CLOSURE IN ARGENTINA

The guide outlines a framework for financial assurance in Argentina's mining sector, emphasizing the need for funds to cover closure and post-closure costs to prevent abandoned mines. It recommends a phased approach to posting assurance based on the mine's life cycle and disturbance levels, suggests various financial instruments (such as letters of credit and surety insurance), and provides a comparative analysis of regional practices in Chile and Peru. The document also addresses the management of future risks like climate change and social transition, and proposes a transitional regime for existing operations.

• Argentina currently lacks a national law specifically for financial assurance for mine closure, although some provincial regulations exist in Catamarca and Jujuy.
• Financial assurance is intended to protect the state from inheriting costs if a company is unable to execute its closure plan, and it encourages 'progressive closure' by allowing companies to reduce assurance amounts as they complete reclamation tasks during operations.
• The guide recommends a phased schedule for posting financial assurance: 10% of total closure costs before construction, 20% before production, and reaching 100% within the first two-thirds of the mine's life (if 20 years or less) or within 15 years of starting operations.
• Closure cost estimates should include direct costs (e.g., demolition, reforestation, water treatment) and indirect costs (e.g., consultants, health and safety plans), and should account for a minimum post-closure monitoring period of 5 years.
• The document identifies several viable financial instruments for Argentina, categorizing them by liquidity: 'readily realizable' (e.g., unilateral on-demand guarantees), 'moderately realizable' (e.g., guarantee trusts), and 'realizable with restrictions' (e.g., pledges of assets).
• To avoid unsustainable financial burdens on small-scale miners (those extracting less than 5,000 tonnes per month), the guide suggests exempting them from individual assurance requirements and instead considering collective guarantees.
• For existing mines, the guide recommends a transitional period of 1 to 2 years to develop closure plans and cost estimates, noting that a sudden implementation could overwhelm regulators and companies.
• Climate change risks should be managed by identifying susceptible closure elements and adjusting designs for resilience, though the guide advises against using a general contingency percentage for climate risks in financial assurance calculations.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2021). GUIDE TO FINANCIAL ASSURANCE FOR MINE CLOSURE IN ARGENTINA. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-09/financially-assured-mine-closure-argentina-en.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. GUIDE TO FINANCIAL ASSURANCE FOR MINE CLOSURE IN ARGENTINA. 2021. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-09/financially-assured-mine-closure-argentina-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=GUIDE TO FINANCIAL ASSURANCE FOR MINE CLOSURE IN ARGENTINA |date=August 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-09/financially-assured-mine-closure-argentina-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2021guide, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{GUIDE TO FINANCIAL ASSURANCE FOR MINE CLOSURE IN ARGENTINA}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-09/financially-assured-mine-closure-argentina-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }