Mining in Argentina
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Mining in Argentina Current situation, potential and opportunities April 2016 kpmg.com.ar Introduction Argentina has an important mining tradition spanning over a century, especially focusing on the production of gold, silver, lead, aluminum and copper. The growing global demand for minerals, such as lithium and silicon, makes the country play a new leading role. Minerals play an active role in our that produced distortive effects2, both (i.e. supplies demanded from one lives. They are present in all the things industries have shown an uneven economic sector to the others) and we use and consume in a proportion performance that might not reflect the production value added or PVA greater than imagined. Metals, such their real situation. However, they (i.e. the value that the sector involved as iron, aluminum, copper, zinc and offer good examples to show the adds to the IC through the intensive platinum are intensively used by the importance of mining for economic use of production factors, basically automotive and electronic industries. development. capital and workforce). The share of Other minerals, such as limestone, each element in GPV depends on In fact, mining is not only a sands and silica are used in the the business activity under analysis. significant activity within the national construction and paper industry; For example, in the case of mining, production structure or system (GDP), whereas coal and uranium are used the PVA represents 69%; therefore, but also provides basic supplies in the energy industry (without in relative terms (i.e. regardless of necessary for the production of considering oil and gas, which despite its absolute value of production and other finished products. Accordingly, being part of a separate industry, as its share in the national GDP), this is based on the most recent input- they are resources extracted from considered a “productive” economic output matrix (IOM) prepared by the the soil and rock, may be regarded as activity. For comparative purposes, Argentine Institute of Statistics and included within mining). the GPV of the industry is made up Census (INDEC) in 1997, it can be of a 66% CI (local and imported) According to a study conducted by concluded that the sales in this sector and only a 32% PVA. However, this IDESA (Institute of Argentine Social (Exploitation of mines and quarries, industry represents a share in GDP Development)1, a vehicle is made according to the classification made of more than 16% in absolute terms. up of 67% ferrous metals, and a by INDEC) have a significant influence In addition, it can be said that the cellphone, among other materials, in the gross production value (GPV) industry accounts for 40% of the GPV contains large amounts of metallic of the overall economy and some of the mining activity, which, in turn, minerals (copper, for example, areas in particular, such as the represents 58% of the demand for represents 50%). manufacturing (3%), power supply, mining products from all economic gas and water (12%) or construction These are only some examples sectors (except for the demand for (3%) industries. of everyday products in which the local and external final consumption, mining industry has left a permanent The conclusions that may be and the percentage allocated to the mark. In the particular case of drawn from the IOM are critical gross formation of capital). Argentina, in relation to the examples to understand the valuable role of However, the share of mining in given in the preceding paragraph, the mining in the Argentine economy the GPV of the industry results, in automotive and electronic industries (see Table 1). According to estimates fact, from calculating the average are two productive areas showing made by INDEC, the mining industry impact on the GPV of each industrial an increasing share in GDP and in represents almost 3% of the GPV activity. Therefore, it might be domestic exports. During recent of the manufacturing industry. expected that such share shows years, as a result of certain policies GPV is made up of two elements: a significant increase when, for intermediate consumption or IC example, the metallurgical, chemical and petrochemical (for which oil and 1 “La Minería y su aporte al desarrollo 2 The increase in luxury tax applicable to the gas are basic supplies), automotive económico nacional” [Mining and its contribution automotive industry, subsidies, tax exemptions and or machine production, metallic and to the national economic development], IDESA, the excessive promotion of import substitution for the December 2011. electronic industry provide a clear example of this. non-metallic minerals industries are © 2015 KPMG, a partnership established under Argentine law and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. analyzed. In these cases, the share of In addition, holding the results jobs per direct job, the figures mining is significantly higher than the of the IOM in 1997 fixed, we can obtained by the employment average share of the industry; which conclude from Table 1 that, in multiplier for the mining industry are clearly highlights its importance. aggregate terms, 70% of the GPV even more remarkable (even though, This is even more evident when we of mining is allocated to the IC of all historically, the mining industry analyze other sectors where mining economic sectors (i.e. as production has made a small contribution to represents the greatest share in its supplies) and that mining provides total employment, according to the GPV: power, gas and water supply around 4% of the total intermediate statistics on registered employment (PGWS). In this sector, which is consumption of production supplies. kept by the Ministry of Labor, critical for the industry, agribusiness Employment and Social Security). As regards employment, as it can and service provision, based on the be seen in the column Employment A parallel analysis may be IOM, it is estimated that the share of of Table 1, based on the IOM, it conducted by observing the main mining in the GPV is over 12%. Such is estimated that mining is the ten products (or groups of products) percentage, which is significant in productive area that creates exported by Argentina in 2014. As it itself, becomes more important when the greatest number of indirect can be seen from the table below we understand that the IC of PGWS jobs per direct job in other areas (Table 2), mining, without including represents 50% of its GPV or that it (around three additional positions). mineral fuels, represents a share of accounts for around 21% of the total If it is considered that the economy around 4.5% in total exports of the demand for mining products from the generates, on average, 1.7 additional first ten groups of products (or 11% other economic sectors. Table 1 Input output matrix in 1997. Conclusions on mining. (In percentages and number of jobs created) Source: prepared by KPMG based on INDEC data (IOM, 1997). Note: (1) =Taxes; (2) = It does not include imports; (3) = It is made up of the intermediate demand, final consumption, exports and gross formation of capital (equivalent to the GPV). © 2015 KPMG, a partnership established under Argentine law and a member firm of the KPMG network of Mining in Argentina. Current situation, potential and opportunities. 3 independent firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. if fuels are considered). In addition, recent years, which occurred at the according to IOM estimates of same time as the ups and downs of the share of mining in the GPV of the mining share in GDP. other economic activities, it can be The information provided so far concluded that most of the groups gives a snapshot of the performance of products that record the highest and importance of mining in the export levels depend, to some extent, national economic development of on mining. recent years. This article is intended From the historical standpoint, as to provide an overview on the other productive activities critical for performance of, and changes in, this development, mining has kept pace sector during the 1900-2015 period, with the national economic growth. while showing different milestones As it can be seen from Figure 1, and how mining has contributed which shows growth rates using 10- to the national economic growth. year moving averages for both mining To that end, this article is divided in and GDP during the 1900-2015 period, two sections: the first one analyzes the acceleration and deceleration changes in mining as a productive cycle of the Mines and Quarries sector throughout the 1900-1960 category has kept pace with the period; the second one includes an economy, experiencing some evident analysis covering the following fifty deviations during 1956-1972 and in years until present days (1960-2015). Table 2 Ranking of exported products. Year 2014. (In thousands of U.S. dollars) Note: (e) = estimated value; (*) = including gold, which is the most significant in this group. Source: Prepared by KPMG based on Argentine Ministry of Economy (MECON) and COMTRADE data. © 2015 KPMG, a partnership established under Argentine law and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Figure 1 Historical performance of mining gdp and national gdp (1900-2015) (In %, with 10-year moving averages) Source: prepared by KPMG based on ORLANDO FERRERES and INDEC data. © 2015 KPMG, a partnership established under Argentine law and a member firm of the KPMG network of Mining in Argentina. Current situation, potential and opportunities. 5 independent firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity.