Copper May Be the Color of Argentina’s Future
The South American nation has a unique opportunity to become one of the world’s largest copper producers — and prove that it is stable enough to attract and reward big, long-term investments.
There’s copper in them thar hills.
Photographer: Oliver Llaneza Hesse/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images
If I told you Argentina is the world’s hottest new market for copper, you might be likely either to scratch your head or just laugh.
This is, after all, a country better known for volatility and policy U-turns than the kind of political and financial long-term stability that mega-mining projects require. Argentina’s last major copper mine shut in 2018. Today, production is virtually nil. Despite vast reserves — particularly across the Andes mountains alongside Chile and Bolivia — much of Argentina’s mineral wealth remains untapped thanks to decades of hostile business conditions and economic chaos.