Hombre Muerto Oeste (HMW) — lithium carbonate (Galan)
Lithium brine project in the Salar del Hombre Muerto (western zone), to produce 12,000 t/yr of lithium carbonate equivalent. Official portal: 670 jobs (direct and indirect).
The projectwhat it is, the route, the owners, the works and the contractors
Who owns it
GALAN LITIO SA (CUIT 30-71736364-3); RIGI vehicle: its Dedicated Branch (CUIT 30-71899846-4). Parent: Galan Lithium Ltd (ASX: GLN). verif · Aug 28, 2025 ↗
- The works, milestone by milestone — We have not built this project’s timeline. Dated milestones with their source close it.
- Who already has a contract — We have not surveyed this project’s awards. A published contract with its source closes them.
How to supply itwhere to register, what they ask for and what they will buy
How to become a supplier
We have not built this project’s entry map. It is our gap, not a prohibition: it closes by opening the provincial register and the operator’s single window.
What it will buy, and when
Each phase buys different things at different times.
Construction
under wayVerbatim from the act: «within an estimated total construction time of forty-eight (48) months». The resolution does NOT say when they start running: the starting year is the year of admission (Jul 17, 2025), which is when the investment plan runs —USD 31,112,863 in the first year and USD 51,531,371 in the second—, and the closing year is the Dec 31, 2029 deadline to certify the minimum investment.
What it will need and has no supplier for yet
Power and firm capacity in the puna, which the province has not yet measured
highThe project commits that 95.34% of what it earmarks for paying suppliers, goods and works goes to local suppliers, the highest share among the approved projects that disclose it, against a regime minimum of 20%, and has a minimum-investment deadline of 31 December 2029: it is supplier demand written into the resolution and with a clock running. Within that basket, energy is the link Catamarca does not have measured as a niche -San Juan does, for copper- and a carbonate plant in the puna needs firm capacity, back-up and fuel in a place with no robust grid. It is infrastructure decided before the first tonne is produced.
Outbound logistics for the finished carbonate, not just inbound
mediumIt is 12,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate equivalent that have to be moved out of the puna to port, in a product sensitive to moisture and cross-contamination, with packaging, intermediate storage and condition control at every stage. The province's niche map covers the last mile inbound -the reagents going up- but not the outbound flow, which is the one that invoices. No Catamarca niche quantifies it and the service is currently assembled by generalist hauliers with no specialization in battery-grade chemical product.
Traceability and chain-of-custody audit for the battery buyer
mediumThe final buyer of the carbonate is not an indifferent commodity trader: it is an automotive chain that requires proof of origin, production conditions and footprint across the entire custody of the material, and that proof is produced with independent third-party audit and with documentation assembled from the first day of operation, not at the moment of sale. The province already has fiscal metering measured for the royalty, which is a different thing: that one measures for the State, this one certifies for the client. There is no local supplier and the parent company is listed on an exchange that also demands its own reporting.
Get on board the takeoff
Tell us what you are looking for and we will reply. This is what we work on: proyectos RIGI, proveedores y datos verificados de Catamarca.
What it leaves in Catamarcajobs, works, taxes, promises and the outlook
- The works that stay behind — We have not surveyed this project’s permanent works. A published size with its source closes them.
- 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-2024-118669988- -APN-SCEYM#MEC verif · Aug 28, 2025 ↗
Jul 17, 2025 verif · Aug 28, 2025 ↗
The act’s articles, in detail
4 facts on the commitment
95,34 % of the amount earmarked for suppliers that goes to LOCAL suppliers verif · Aug 28, 2025 ↗
The entire investment amount earmarked for paying suppliers, goods and infrastructure works, during the construction and operation stages verif · Aug 28, 2025 ↗
31 December 2029 to complete the minimum investment amount. verif · Dec 31, 2029 ↗
GALÁN SDE (dedicated or special branch of Galán Litio S.A.), tax ID 30-71899846-4, registered at Rivadavia 378, city of Salta. verif · Aug 28, 2025 ↗
What we could not confirm
There are 1 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.
