Mining: imports by affidavit, stability self-declared

What changed

Decree 482/2026 entirely replaces the Annex of Decree 2686/1993 (the regulation of Law 24,196 on Mining Investments) without changing the law. Three substantive changes: (1) imports of capital goods under sec. 21 move from prior authorization/certificate by the enforcement authority to a SWORN DECLARATION of the good's mining destination, integrated into the National Single Window for Foreign Trade (VUCEA) with automatic validation via the Malvina IT System (SIM); (2) fiscal stability (30 years) becomes DECLARATIVE and its start date is set at the filing of the feasibility study; (3) the regional integration of the production chain (deposits and beneficiation plants) is redefined, extending its distance limit TO 500 km — 500 km is the new limit, the endpoint of the extension. verif · Jun 23, 2026 ↗

In force

Jun 24, 2026, the day after its publication in the Boletín Oficial (Jun 23, 2026), as the decree itself sets out. verif · Jun 24, 2026 ↗

Who it affects

Mining companies with projects under the Law 24.196 regime (lithium, copper, gold, silver) and their capital-goods importers; customs brokers; the enforcement authority (Mining Secretariat). Direct impact in the mining provinces (San Juan, Catamarca, Salta, Jujuy) where the large copper and lithium projects are concentrated. verif · Jun 23, 2026 ↗

The norm

Decreto 482/2026, published in the Boletín Oficial on Jun 23, 2026 (in force from the next day, Jun 24, 2026). It implements Ley 24.196 (Régimen de Inversiones para la Actividad Minera, the mining investment regime) by replacing the Annex to Decreto 2686/1993. verif · Jun 23, 2026 ↗

Our reading

A substantive deregulation of the mining regime that had gone 30+ years without updating: it lowers the friction to import equipment (sworn statement instead of prior authorization) and gives declarative fiscal predictability (30 years from feasibility). It complements the RIGI for the large projects (Vicuña/San Juan, NOA lithium) and reduces the entry cost for the mining-services ecosystem. Aligned with the course: less permit window, more sworn statement + automatic validation. thesis

Where it lands, province by province1

Salta The three Salta projects already approved under RIGI — Rincón (Rio Tinto), Sal de Oro II (POSCO) and Diablillos (AbraSilver) — are in construction or pre-construction, which is precisely the stage that imports capital goods: the sworn declaration replaces the prior procedure and brings equipment forward. But what weighs most here is fiscal stability declared from FEASIBILITY rather than from the resolution, because it reaches the two projects currently outside the regime that concentrate the province's upside: Taca Taca (USD 5,250 M declared in its February 2026 technical report, with no application filed) and Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes (filed and awaiting the Committee's decision). For satellite suppliers the effect is one of timing: it pulls forward the purchasing curve of those already in, and sets a floor of predictability for those still out. favorable opening and deregulation thesis

Mining: imports by sworn statement and declarative fiscal stability

What changed and who it applies to

Our reading

Where it lands, province by province1

What it leads to1

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