Argentina Day 2025: Copper & Lithium

Argentina Day 2025: Exploring Investment Opportunities in Copper and Lithium

During LME Week in London, the British Argentine Chamber of Commerce joined the Embassy of Argentina in the United Kingdom and BritCham Argentina to host another edition of Argentina Day — the annual event that brings together the leading voices in Argentine mining with the UK institutions, investors, and policymakers shaping the global energy transition.

This year's focus was clear and timely: investment opportunities in copper and lithium in Argentina.

Opening Remarks

The day opened with welcoming remarks from H.E. Ambassador Mariana Plaza, Ambassador of Argentina to the United Kingdom, and Fabian Hamilton MP, HM Trade Envoy to the Southern Cone — a pairing that underscored both the diplomatic weight and the genuine commercial momentum behind the UK-Argentine mining relationship.

A Fireside Chat followed with Luis E. Lucero, Secretary for Mining of Argentina, moderated by Alfredo Fierro MBE, Director of Trade and Investment at the British Embassy in Buenos Aires.

Secretary Lucero set the tone for the day with a striking headline figure: over 60% of Argentina's mining territory remains unexplored — making the country one of the most significant frontier opportunities in global mining. He pointed to lithium and copper as the two areas of greatest near-term opportunity: lithium in the Lithium Triangle, encompassing the provinces of Jujuy, Salta, and Catamarca, and copper in San Juan and Mendoza. He also highlighted the significant gold and silver potential of Patagonia further south.

Gustavo Fernandez, Minister of Production, and Juan Pablo Perea, Minister of Mining — both from the Province of San Juan — reinforced this message, presenting the specific opportunities their province offers to international investors and underscoring San Juan's readiness to partner with UK and global companies.

RIGI: Argentina's New Investment Framework

A recurring theme throughout the day was RIGI — Argentina's Large Investment Incentive Regime — which has emerged as one of the most significant policy developments for the mining sector in recent years. RIGI offers tax reductions for large-scale mining projects, long-term legal security for investments, and specific support mechanisms for Direct Lithium Extraction technologies. For international investors assessing Argentina, it represents a meaningful shift in the regulatory landscape and a signal of the country's seriousness about attracting capital at scale.

Panel One: Mining Companies Operating in Argentina

The first panel brought together senior executives from some of the world's most significant mining companies, moderated by Ignacio Celorrio from CAEM (Argentina's Mining Business Chamber):

Pablo Tarantini, CEO of Integra Capital Lithium, Martín Pérez de Solay, CEO of Glencore Argentina, and Tim Wilcox, CFO at Rio Tinto, each brought a distinct perspective on what is driving investment decisions in Argentina today — and what the country needs to do to realise its full potential as a critical minerals supplier.

Panel Two: Infrastructure, Financing, and ESG

The second panel turned to the enabling conditions for that investment to succeed, moderated by Florencia Heredia from Allende & Brea:

Adrian Salvatore, Director of Corporate Affairs at Central Puerto, Carlos Chana, Managing Partner at ERM, and Manuel Frávega, Partner at Beccar Varela, explored the infrastructure gaps, financing structures, and ESG frameworks that will determine whether Argentina's mining ambitions translate into sustained, responsible growth — and how the UK's expertise in each of these areas can contribute.

Closing Remarks

Ing. Javier Alvarez, Chairman of the BACC, and Alejandro Campos, Executive Director of BritCham Argentina, delivered the closing remarks — reinforcing Argentina's mining ambitions and the UK's growing interest in being a partner of choice as it pursues its own green energy transition goals. The complementarity between the two countries has rarely felt more tangible.

A Partnership Built for This Moment

The BACC has long believed that the UK-Argentine relationship holds particular strategic value in the context of the global energy transition. Argentina has the minerals. The UK has the capital, the expertise, and the institutional frameworks. Argentina Day 2025 was a demonstration of what that partnership looks like in practice — and of the appetite on both sides to deepen it.

We look forward to continuing this work throughout the year and to welcoming the mining and energy communities back to London for future editions.

The British Argentine Chamber of Commerce has been facilitating UK-Argentine business relationships for 30 years. For more information about BACC events and membership, visit baccnetwork.com or contact [email protected].