Diablillos — gold and silver (Salta/Catamarca)
Gold and silver mining in the puna, on the Salta/Catamarca border area: feasibility development, a 3.15 Mt/yr processing plant and full infrastructure. Official portal: 2,013 jobs (direct and indirect).
The projectwhat it is, the route, the owners, the works and the contractors
Who owns it
PACIFIC RIM MINING CORPORATION ARGENTINA S.A. (CUIT 30-67305977-1) verif May 11, 2026 ↗
The works, milestone by milestone
AbraSilver issues Worley a limited notice to proceed for the bridging engineering, opening the workstreams needed for the final investment decision, set for the second quarter of 2027. The scope includes planning the construction and operations camp.
AbraSilver closes a C$50 million equity placement.
Catamarca issues the project's final environmental approval.
AbraSilver publishes the results of the definitive feasibility study: a 9,000 t/day plant, a 25-year mine life, USD 722 M of initial capex, a 1,600-person camp to be built after the investment decision, and a grid connection in year 3 of operation.
Resolución 562/2026 is published in the official gazette, approving accession to the RIGI: a 3,150,000 t/yr plant, USD 481.7 M in eligible assets and a commitment of 55% of purchases from local suppliers.
RIGI accession date set by article 2 of Resolución 562/2026. ⚠️ It is neither the date of the resolution nor of its publication: the resolution sets it retroactively, 74 days earlier.
AbraSilver selects Worley as the engineering contractor for the definitive feasibility study, with the work run from its Canadian and Argentine offices.
Who already has a contract
Verbatim from the award: « Worley Limited ('Worley')... as the engineering contractor for the Definitive Feasibility Study ('DFS') » and « Engineering work will be conducted through Worley's offices in both Canada and Argentina ». Verbatim from the follow-on: « it has issued a Limited Notice to Proceed (LNTP) to Worley to commence the bridging engineering phase », which « initiates the workstreams required to support a final investment decision (FID) targeted for the second quarter of 2027 ».
The owner names it as one of the three specialist consultants that supported the study.
The owner names it as one of the three specialist consultants that supported the study.
The owner names it as one of the three specialist consultants that supported the study.
How to supply itwhere to register, what they ask for and what they will buy
How to become a supplier
Pacific Rim Mining Corporation Argentina S.A., tax ID 30-67305977-1, registered address at Balcarce 376, Floor 1, city of Salta. The company itself joins the regime, not a dedicated branch.
Two things change which door to knock on. First: the engineering — and with it the work packages and the specifications — is run by Worley from its Canadian and Argentine offices, not by AbraSilver alone. Second: the build is not yet decided. The company itself places the final investment decision in the second quarter of 2027 and says construction of the 1,600-person camp and the enabling infrastructure starts AFTER that decision. Approaching them today is positioning; selling today is not.
The registration routes that exist today, with their status. The one that is up and running is not always the official one.
RPPLEM — Salta Provincial Registry of Local Suppliers to Mining Companies
up and running todayThis is the registry created by art. 15 of Ley 8164 and the only one the law recognises. It is up and running and its roll is public: as of 31-Jul-2026 it listed 500 suppliers with approved applications, showing tax ID, legal name, registration date, chamber membership and line of business.
Go to the single windowabrirCAPEMISA — Salta Chamber of Mining Suppliers and Entrepreneurs
up and running todayThe chamber is the body the provincial government placed inside the registration process and the one that convenes the matchmaking rounds with the operators, with three or four planned for the rest of 2026 with miners other than Rio Tinto.
Go to the single windowabrirWhat they ask you for
Qualify as a local supplier under art. 16 of Ley 8164, which requires four things at once: registered or corporate AND tax domicile in Salta; at least 80% of the payroll living in the province; for a company, 51% or more of the capital held by partners domiciled in Salta; and for a joint venture, a Salta partner with a minimum 30% stake. verif Oct 22, 2019 ↗Verbatim from art. 16: a local supplier must « constituir y mantener domicilio real o social y fiscal en la Provincia de Salta »; have « al menos el 80% de su nomina de trabajadores » living in Salta; if a legal entity, be registered in Salta with « el 51% o mas de su composicion societaria » held by partners domiciled in the province; and if a joint venture, a Salta partner with a minimum 30% stake.
Be registered in the Provincial Registry of Local Suppliers to Mining Companies (RPPLEM) and keep the certificate current: it expires two years after issue. verif Jul 31, 2026 ↗The registry is created by « la Ley N° 8164, en su artículo 15 », is free and public, is run by the Secretaría de Minería y Energía (Av. Bolivia 4650 PB, Salta), and the certificate runs for « dos años contados desde que se emitió ».
The specialised professionals and technicians the supplier puts on the job must be licensed by the province's own professional association. verif Oct 22, 2019 ↗A requirement of art. 16 of Ley 8164, read in the text published in the provincial official gazette: specialised professionals and technicians must be licensed by the corresponding provincial association.
Be on the roll on inspection day, not on an annual filing: enforcement cross-checks the list of suppliers present AT THE MINE against the Registry, on the spot. prob Aug 28, 2025 ↗Verbatim from the official release of 28-Aug-2025: « las empresas mineras deben brindar en mina, al momento de la inspeccion, la nomina de todos los proveedores », cross-checked « con el Registro de Proveedores Mineros ». The same measure gives CAPEMISA the power to « formular observaciones en el procedimiento » of registration.
Settle which side you invoice from: the deposit sits on the Salta/Catamarca border, and the project's final environmental approval was issued by Catamarca. Each province has its own registry and its own definition of a local supplier, and one does not validate the other. prob Jun 24, 2026 ↗The project sits in Los Andes (Salta) and Antofagasta de la Sierra (Catamarca), and the owner's own news listing records Catamarca's final environmental approval on 24-Jun-2026.
The order you get in by
Register with the RPPLEM at the Secretaría de Minería y Energía. It is free and public, and without a current certificate the purchase does not count towards the miner's local-content target. the certificate expires two years after issue
If the ownership structure falls short of 51% Salta-held, form a joint venture with a local partner: art. 16 accepts a joint venture with a Salta partner holding at least 30%.
Join CAPEMISA or ask to be included in its matchmaking rounds: it is the chamber the provincial government placed inside the process, and the one that convenes the meetings with the operators.
Knock on the engineering door, not only the owner's: the work packages are being defined in the bridging engineering that Worley runs from its Argentine offices. the final investment decision is set for the second quarter of 2027
What it will buy, and when
Three dated years of construction —July 2026 to July 2029— and only then operation. The 3.15 Mt/yr plant and the full infrastructure are bought inside that window; whoever supplies operating inputs has no market until 2029.
There are 2,013 stated jobs in the Salta-Catamarca puna, where the settled population is minimal: the project's wages are spent on accommodation, food, personnel transport and services in the gateway towns, and that is demand that appears before the plant's.
Each phase buys different things at different times. The links lead to the matching market or trade.
Construction of the plant and the site
under wayVerbatim from the act: «estimating a total construction time from the month of July 2026, and an estimated start of operation for July 2029». It includes the 3,150,000 t/yr plant, waste dumps, stockpile areas, a service centre, a truck shop, a warehouse, offices, laboratories, a construction and operation camp, a contractors’ yard, access roads, water and power. The investment plan for the first two years is USD 98,500,000 and USD 253,900,000, with a Nov 30, 2027 deadline.
They are not buying any of this today. Open the phase to see the detail and arrive qualified the day it goes to tender.
Operationfrom July 2029not started14 ítems+
Start of operation declared in the act for July 2029.
What it will need and has no supplier for yet
Grinding and process plant maintenance
highIt is the ONLY RIGI project in Salta with a grinding plant: 9,000 t/d (3.15 Mt/year). The copper, gold and silver dossier flags it as an open gap in the province — nobody in Salta currently maintains mills of that class, and the package (relining, liner changes, alignment, vibration analysis, heavy-gauge welding) would today be imported from Chile or San Juan. It is a high-value-per-hour service with a scheduled shutdown window, and whoever gets certified during construction goes on to operate it.
Fire assay of gold and silver, and grade control
highA silver and gold deposit controls its grades by fire assay, a laboratory line distinct from the brine characterization required by Rincón and Sal de Oro: same industry, different equipment and different accreditation. It is the hard-rock leg of Salta's laboratory niche.
High-altitude civil works and electromechanical assembly, 2027-2029 window
mediumAbraSilver's DFS places construction from 2027, peaking in 2028-2029 and at 4,100-4,650 m above sea level. Demand is large but CONDITIONAL, which is why this hypothesis is not sealed any higher: the project has no regulatory obstacle (environmental impact statement and RIGI already approved) and its open gate is financing, with a final investment decision expected in the second quarter of 2027.
We cross what you manufacture or do against the 2 phases of this project and tell you which ones you fit into and when each one buys. Two pages, with the evidence behind them.
Analyze my companyWhat it leaves in Saltajobs, works, taxes, promises and the outlook
The works that stay behind
The infrastructure that stays standing once the works end, with its size and its source.
Tank leach processing plant, with its enlarged tailings storage facility
Productivetonnes of ore per day, for a 25-year mine life; US$722 million of initial investment, contingency included
The cooperation zone between Salta and Catamarca: it is the industrial facility that sustains a quarter of a century of activity in the department, and the tailings facility was designed to take the future expansion scenarios of the mine plan.
The definitive feasibility study sets out an open-pit operation with a tank leach plant of 9,000 tonnes per day, initial capex of US$722 million — including US$98 million of contingency — and sustaining capex of US$520 million over the life of the mine. The tailings facility was redesigned with a downstream waste-rock buttress and sized to accommodate future expansions of the mine plan.
- What it already pays in taxes and royalties — We have not broken down this project’s local fiscal contribution: the primary source that sets each item still has to be opened, and an act of the State is not published on press backing.
- Who promised what — We have not surveyed the public promises about this project. A dated, verifiable commitment with its source closes them.
What could stall itrisks and how to track them
- What could stall it — We have not documented this project’s risks. An identifiable vector with its source closes them.
- How to tell whether it is advancing — We have not defined this project’s indicators: what observable fact marks its progress still has to be identified.
How we verified thisthe act, the gaps and the sources
The RIGI act, in detail
EX-2025-129214596- -APN-SCEYM#MEC verif May 11, 2026 ↗
Feb 26, 2026 verif May 11, 2026 ↗
The act’s articles, in detail
3 facts on the commitment
55 % of the amount earmarked for suppliers that goes to LOCAL suppliers verif May 11, 2026 ↗
The entire investment amount earmarked for paying suppliers, goods and infrastructure works verif May 11, 2026 ↗
Pacific Rim Mining Corporation Argentina S.A., tax ID 30-67305977-1, registered at Balcarce 376, Floor 1, city of Salta. verif May 11, 2026 ↗
What we could not confirm
There are 3 in this project. Each says why it could not be confirmed and what it would take to close it.
H-01How many people the construction employs and how many stay working in operation+
No RIGI admission resolution publishes the figure: the seventeen that are published state that the company «provided the estimate of direct and indirect employment of the Project with local integration» and do not transcribe it. The official RIGI portal publishes a single figure that adds direct and indirect jobs together and does not separate the two stages, and mixing them is exactly the error the `empleo` field exists to prevent.
H-02The permanent infrastructure the project leaves behind+
The definitive feasibility study announces a grid connection in year 3 and a 1,600-person camp, but the release publishes neither the length nor the voltage of the line, nor the kilometres of access road, nor the water system. Without a magnitude an item does not enter the permanent-works block, and the gap is not filled with the Puna's regional infrastructure: the roughly 250 km high-voltage line under discussion for the lithium corridor is a different project, not Diablillos.
H-03The route of the power connection, the access road and the water system+
The feasibility study publishes that the grid connection arrives in year 3 — until then the project runs on diesel generators — but it does not give the length or the voltage of the line, the kilometers of the access road, or how water is supplied. A work with no magnitude does not enter the inventory of what stays built, so all three are left out until a measurement appears.
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