GUÍA NACIONAL PARA EL CIERRE DE MINAS CON GARANTÍAS FINANCIERAS EN LA REPÚBLICA ARGENTINA

The guide outlines a framework for implementing financial guarantees in Argentina to prevent abandoned mines and protect the state from closure costs. It details the life cycle of a mine, cost estimation methods, and various financial instruments—such as letters of credit, surety bonds, and trust funds—while comparing regional practices from Chile and Peru. The document recommends a phased approach to guarantee constitution, starting at 10% of total closure costs during construction and reaching 100% within 15 years of operation, and suggests a specific threshold of 5,000 tonnes of monthly extraction for mandatory compliance.

• Argentina currently lacks a national law for financial guarantees for mine closure, although some provincial regulations exist in Catamarca and Jujuy.
• Financial guarantees are essential to prevent the state from inheriting multimillion-dollar liabilities for rehabilitating abandoned mines and to ensure funds are available regardless of a company's solvency.
• The guide proposes a specific timeline for the constitution of financial guarantees in Argentina: 10% of total closure costs before construction, 20% before production, and 100% within the first two-thirds of the estimated mine life (or within 15 years if the life exceeds 20 years).
• To avoid harming the small-scale mining sector, the guide suggests that mandatory financial guarantees be required only for operations with a mineral extraction capacity exceeding 5,000 tonnes per month.
• Cost estimations for guarantees must include both direct costs (e.g., demolition, reforestation, water treatment) and indirect costs (e.g., contractor fees, health and safety plans), as well as a provision for post-closure monitoring and maintenance, typically for a minimum of five years.
• The document identifies several viable financial instruments for Argentina, categorizing them by liquidity: 'easily liquidable' (e.g., first-demand guarantees, cash pledges), 'moderately liquidable' (e.g., guarantee trusts, surety bonds), and 'liquidable with restrictions' (e.g., mortgages on real estate).
• Climate change introduces uncertainty into long-term closure planning, as current models typically only cover 100-year horizons while mine management needs may extend in perpetuity.
• Social transition costs, such as professional retraining for workers, are not traditionally included in financial guarantees but the guide recommends their inclusion if they have defined objectives and budgets to ensure sustainability.
• The guide highlights the regional examples of Chile and Peru, noting that both use national-level supervision to ensure uniform control and require periodic updates of closure plans and financial calculations every five years.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2021). GUÍA NACIONAL PARA EL CIERRE DE MINAS CON GARANTÍAS FINANCIERAS EN LA REPÚBLICA ARGENTINA. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-08/financially-assured-mine-closure-argentina-es.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. GUÍA NACIONAL PARA EL CIERRE DE MINAS CON GARANTÍAS FINANCIERAS EN LA REPÚBLICA ARGENTINA. 2021. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-08/financially-assured-mine-closure-argentina-es.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=GUÍA NACIONAL PARA EL CIERRE DE MINAS CON GARANTÍAS FINANCIERAS EN LA REPÚBLICA ARGENTINA |date=August 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-08/financially-assured-mine-closure-argentina-es.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2021gua, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{GUÍA NACIONAL PARA EL CIERRE DE MINAS CON GARANTÍAS FINANCIERAS EN LA REPÚBLICA ARGENTINA}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-08/financially-assured-mine-closure-argentina-es.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }