Catamarca negotiates copper and lithium investments with BHP and Greenwing
The governor of Catamarca, Raúl Jalil, is currently in Australia pursuing a working agenda focused on strengthening bilateral and commercial relations, with emphasis on promoting new investments and expanding opportunities for provincial mining activity. During his visit to Brisbane, the governor was accompanied by Argentine Ambassador Máximo Gowland and held a series of strategic meetings aimed at promoting mining training programs and attracting capital toward the province's extractive projects.
Parliamentary meetings and agreements with mining operators
During his visit to the Queensland Parliament, Jalil met with deputies Jon Krause and Joe Kelly, co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Latin America, to discuss regional cooperation and joint opportunities. He also held meetings with Doug Aitken and authorities from the Sustainable Mining Institute at the University of Queensland, an institution that provides specialized advisory services for the development of mining projects in Latin America.
Investment opportunities in copper and lithium were central to the provincial agenda. In this context, the governor met with Dinesh Bishop, Sergio Lorenzo, and Jess McPhillips, representatives of mining company BHP, to whom he presented the current outlook for mining activity in Catamarca and investment possibilities in both strategic minerals. The meeting with the Australian mega-miner is particularly significant given BHP's weight in large-scale operations globally and its experience in copper and lithium deposits.
Lithium projects and continuity at the IMARC Conference
The agenda also included a meeting with Peter Wright, director of Greenwing, with whom Jalil discussed lithium projects underway in Catamarca and prospects for their future development. Greenwing has operations and investments in the province, so the meeting allowed for a review of ongoing initiatives and exploration of potential investment expansions.
As part of the tour, it was confirmed that a Catamarca delegation will participate in the IMARC Mining Conference, to be held in Sydney at the end of October. The provincial presence at the event will allow continuity of the meetings held in Brisbane and expand contact with other operators and financiers in the global mining sector.
Research, renewable energy, and technical training
The working agenda will continue with meetings dedicated to research, renewable energy, and technical mining training. Scheduled activities include meetings with authorities from the Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Research Centre at Central Queensland University, representatives of Rio Tinto, which has projects and investments in Catamarca, and executives from Mining Skills Australia, a firm specializing in technical programs and training for various mining industry activities.
The inclusion of research topics on clean energy and human resource development in Jalil's agenda suggests a comprehensive provincial strategy that goes beyond capital attraction, also aiming to develop local competencies and explore synergies with emerging technologies linked to the global energy transition, a context in which demand for copper and lithium becomes particularly relevant for applications in electromobility and energy storage.