Politician that supports Pan American Silver’s project in Argentina in hot water over anti-mining comments

But that was three years ago. Now, Arcioni seems to be pushing for Pan American Silver’s Navidad project, one of the world’s largest undeveloped silver deposits, located in the north-central part of the province between the towns of Gastre and Gan Gan.

According to local media, during the November presentation of the Argentinian Strategic Mining Plan, the governor said that his office is working to move forward with the zoning application for Navidad. Project development has been stalled for over a decade because provincial law XVII-N°68 (previously Law 5001) prohibits open-pit mining and the use of cyanide in mineral processing in the entire province.

Mariano Arcioni is quoted as saying that Chubut needs to create new productive schemes that take advantage of the wealth of mineral resources that the region hosts. In his view, this is how the province can contribute to the Argentinian republic and start generating progress in remote areas. 

Arcioni’s interest in mining development started showing last year when, as a recently elected governor, he presented a new Ministerial Law that allowed for the former Ministry of Hydrocarbons to become the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Mining. 

But these postures haven’t sat well with some activists and community members, who not only brought back the 2017 video but also reminded Arcioni that during his campaign to become a member of parliament three years ago, he appeared on a TV spot saying that he wouldn’t allow mining in the province. 

Previous to this debate, the politician said on Twitter that technology now allows for efficient ways to develop “a different type of mining” and that he wouldn’t allow mining companies to touch the Chubut River or the province’s mountain range.