The Argentinian geotechnical drilling and mining sectors are showing signs of steady development despite a very complex economic situation in the country and the ongoing consequences of the global Covid pandemic.
Since the beginning of the 2000s Argentina has been experiencing what is probably the deepest economic crisis in its post-war history, which was mainly due to many years of military dictatorship and a lack of economic reforms. The country has declared many economic defaults in the past, that have not allowed it to achieve any significant economic improvements, as the rate of inflation remains at record highs, while debt is steadily growing.
On Thursday, March 17 Argentina's Senate gave final approval to an agreement with the International Monetary Fund that restructures a US$45 billion debt for the country, which allows it to avoid default for at least the next several months.
Still, even though the current economic environment in Argentina remains tough, the economic development of the country is now ongoing, which is reflected in the generally high interest in the country from foreign investors, including those companies from geotechnical drilling and mining sectors.
Infrastructure projects
One such business is Trevi Group, which in recent years has been involved in several major infrastructure projects in Argentina (particular the capital, Buenos Aires). Most of these activities were carried out via the company's local subsidiary Pilotes Trevi Argentina.
Leonardo Costa, a senior engineer of Pilotes Trevi Argentina in an exclusive interview with GDI said: "Pilotes Trevi, part of the Trevi Group, was, for instance, involved in the Torres Mulieris Project, part of the urbanisation of Puerto Madero where Pilotes Trevi worked on the foundations and waterproof subfloors construction of the Torres Mulieris between 2006 and 2007. After finishing this work, the company Creaurban completed the construction of the Torres for what was a successful work for the company."
In the meantime, the importance of Argentina as a venue for business has been recently confirmed by another global mining major - IMDEX.
As an official spokesperson for IMDEX told GDI that it has been operating in Argentina since 2012 and is involved in almost all major greenfield and brownfield exploration projects in the country.
The IMDEX representative went on to state that "since 2020, our focus has been on working with drilling customers and resources companies to develop projects from planning to execution. The most significant mining operations involve First Quantum Minerals, Lundin (Filo Mining and NGEX), Barrick Gold, and Newmont."
According to IMDEX, Argentina is a well-known mining jurisdiction and returned the highest growth for IMDEX globally last year. "We expect to continue expanding our operations, leveraging our excellent business relationship with resource and drilling companies.
Metallic investments
"Exploration budgets are defined by resource companies, and we expect continuous investment in metallic (mainly copper and gold) and non-metallic (mainly lithium) exploration projects."
IMDEX in its half-yearly results released in February said that, generally, resource companies and drilling contractors are increasingly embracing innovation and new technologies to improve safety, enable remote working and achieve greater productivity.
In the meantime, representatives of the Trevi Group also expect the Argentinian geotechnical drilling and mining sector to provide good opportunities for growth for both domestic and international businesses in years to come.
Leonardo Costa from Pilotes Trevi Argentina says: "We believe that both the mining sector and the geodrilling sector of Argentina will have an important development in the coming years because the Argentinian government is promoting these activities since they represent a very important source of foreign exchange income for the country."
Most of the companies interviewed have confirmed that they have no plans to leave the Argentinian market and suspend operations despite the negative economic environment. Representatives of the Argentinian Ministry of Economy were not available for comments. However, according to some state sources, the government has no available resources to provide support to the industry, as most of its funds are allocated for coverage of foreign debt obligations and debt restructuring.
Got a story? Email: duncan.moore@aspermontmedia.com
