In brief
On 27 November 2023, Resolution No. 200/23 ("Resolution") of the National Mining Secretariat was published, establishing the updated annual mining fee (canon) that holders of mining rights must pay as part of the maintenance of such rights.
Considering that the canon is payable in advance and in equal parts in two semesters, due on 30 June and 31 December of each year, the updated value of the canon under the Resolution will apply to the next canon payable in December of this year for the first half of 2024.
Although the update of the Resolution reflects, due to inflationary reasons, an increase of 142.7% in Argentine Pesos (AR$) compared to the 2023 canon, such variation is approximately 13/14% in US Dollars (USD) at the Official Exchange Rate ("Official Rate"), and implies a reduction of approximately 3% at the Contado Con Liquidación Exchange Rate - blue chip transaction - ("CCL").
In focus
This Resolution was issued in accordance with the amendment of Article 213 of the Mining Code made in 2022 - which provides that the annual canon will be updated using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) - and Resolution No. 90/2023 which determined the procedure for the update of the amounts.
This Resolution updated the annual mining canon per tenement as follows:
First category substances (lithium, gold, silver, copper, etc.) |
AR$ 4,611.30 |
Second category substances |
AR$ 2,329.92 |
Provisional explorations or concessions of first and second category for 1 unit of measurement (500 has.) |
AR$ 23,493.36 |
As an example, the following table compares the current canon and the canon for 2024 assuming a 10.000 hectares exploration and a concession of 35 tenements, both assumptions for first category minerals.
|
Canon 2023 |
Canon 2024
for first category substances |
AR$ |
USD Official Rate (*) |
USD CCL (**) |
AR$ |
USD Official Rate (***) |
USD CCL (****) |
Exploration Permit
(20 units = 10.000 has.) |
193,600 |
1,074.60 |
562.57 |
469,847.2 |
1,278.49 |
519.08 |
Concession
(35 tenements = 3500 has.) |
665,000 |
3,691.16 |
1,932.4 |
1,613,955 |
4,391.71 |
1,783.09 |
(*) 1 USD Official Rate = 180.16 AR$ (BNA rate on 30 December 2022).
(**) 1 USD CCL= 344.13 AR$ (rate on 30 December 2022).
(****) 1 USD Official Rate = 367.5 AR$ (BNA rate on 1 December 2023).
(*****) 1 USD CCL= 905.14 AR$ (rate on 1 December 2023).
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