Minerales y materias primas críticas : potencial y oportunidades para Argentina

Abstract

Los minerales y las materias primas “críticas” son usualmente definidos como aquellos que presentan gran importancia económica y alto riesgo de interrupciones en su suministro. Su aprovechamiento integral (su minería, re-uso y reciclaje) abre una ventana de oportunidad para países ricos en recursos como Argentina. En base a una revisión bibliográfica, este trabajo presenta un panorama general del potencial de materiales críticos y de políticas públicas para promover su aprovechamiento bajo principios de sostenibilidad. Los resultados de exploraciones históricas indican que Argentina cuenta con potencial geológico-minero de minerales críticos. Sin embargo, se requieren inversiones para poner en valor, estandarizar y digitalizar los datos disponibles. Asimismo, es necesario jerarquizar dichos minerales en las agendas públicas de investigación e incentivar la exploración. La potencialidad en recursos secundarios es difícil de estimar dada la falta de datos sobre generación y reciclaje de chatarra industrial, baterías y otros productos desechados. En un contexto internacional de crecientes exigencias socio-ambientales y persistente conflictividad, alcanzar una gestión sostenible de los minerales críticos (y no críticos) implica superar el modelo “extractivista”. Para ello es clave transformar la naturaleza de los vínculos entre el sector minero, el sistema científico-tecnológico, el entramado productivo local y las comunidades como también las formas de tomar decisiones estratégicas sobre su utilización.

“Critical” minerals and raw materials are usually defined as those that present great raw materials are usually defined as those that present great economic importance and high risk of supply disruption. supply disruption. TheirTheir integral use (mining, reuse and integral use (mining, reuse and recycling) opens a window of opportunity for resource--rich corich countries such as Argentina. untries such as Argentina. Based on a bibliographic review, this work presents an overview of the potential of critical materials and public policies to promote their use under sustainabilitylic policies to promote their use under sustainability principies. The results of historical explorations indicate that Argentina has geologicalArgentina has geological--mining mining potential of critical minerals. Hntial of critical minerals. However, new investments are required to owever, new investments are required to valuevalue, standardize , standardize and digitize the available data. It is also necessary to rank these minerals in the public the available data. It is also necessary to rank these minerals in the public research agendas and encourage their exploration. The potentiality in secondary resources loration. The potentiality in secondary resources is difficult to estimate given the lack of data on the generation and recycling of industrial strial scrap, batteries and other discarded products. In an international context of growing socio--environmental demandenvironmental demands and persistent s and persistent conflict, achieving a a sustainable management of criticalsustainable management of critical (and non(and non--criticalcritical)) minerals implies minerals implies overcoming the ““extractivextractivisist”t” model. For this, it is essential to transform the nature of the model. For this, it is essential to transform the nature of the linkageskages between the mining sectorbetween the mining sector, the scientific, the scientific--ttechnologicalechnological systemsystem,, the local productive the local productive network and the communities, as well as the and the communities, as well as the ways of making strategic decisions about ways of making strategic decisions about their their use.