San Juan: 80/60 local mining procurement

Act 2827-M requires mining companies to file two plans as sworn statements: a 'Local Employment Development Plan' targeting 80% local workers —measured on the average annual payroll and counting both the miner's own employees and the indirect staff of its contractors (sec. 5)— and a 'Local Supplier Development Plan' targeting 60% of the total annual amount of purchases and contracts tied to the project, measured across the miner's direct purchases and its indirect ones through contractors (sec. 9). The supplier plan is updated every two years. It creates the RE.PRO.MIN, San Juan's Mining Suppliers Registry, under the Ministry of Mining: a single, official, public and freely searchable registry (sec. 11). The piece that turns the registry into the market's real gate: for the 60% count, 'only contracts with suppliers registered and holding a valid certificate in RE.PRO.MIN shall be computable' (sec. 9). The quota is not a hard floor: contracts for which no local offer is available on reasonable terms of quality, technical capacity, volume, timing or market price may be excluded from the calculation base, with a reasoned technical justification (sec. 9). verif · Jul 16, 2026 ↗

In force since 07/16/2026: sec. 30 provides that 'this act enters into force upon its publication', and publication is dated 16-Jul-2026. The compliance windows run from that date (sec. 29): 60 calendar days for miners and contractors that ALREADY had an employment or supplier plan filed under an approved Environmental Impact Statement (DIA) to adapt it to secs. 5 to 10; 90 calendar days for those already operating without a plan; 90 days from obtaining the respective DIA for new projects or for those changing stage or phase; and 90 days to report voluntary community development projects under way. The Enforcement Authority may grant reasoned extensions. The implementing regulation is still pending. verif · Jul 16, 2026 ↗

Copper/gold/silver miners operating in San Juan at any stage (prospecting, exploration, construction, exploitation, closure and post-closure; sec. 249 of the Mining Code), their contractors and supplier SMEs. Requirements for a supplier to enter and stay in the RE.PRO.MIN, all of which must be met SIMULTANEOUSLY (sec. 12):(1) an operating establishment licensed in its own name, with a real domicile in the community of influence or in the rest of the province;(2) legal and tax domicile in that same jurisdiction;(3) at least ONE of two roots criteria: (a) ≥51% of the share capital —or of the votes that form the corporate will— held by persons with local legal and tax domicile, evidencing local ultimate beneficial owners where the partners are legal entities (sole-proprietor firms are exempt from this item), or (b) for industrial goods production or service provision, that the main establishment be its exclusive property and located in the province;(4) employing at least 80% local workers on the average annual payroll of contracts tied to San Juan mining projects;(5) keeping all of its vehicles registered in San Juan and paying the provincial vehicle registration tax on them. Seniority, in two tiers: 24 months to qualify as a local supplier of the community of influence, 12 months for the rest of the province. Construction firms must also be listed in the Provincial Registry of Builders with no less than 24 months of seniority (sec. 13). Local worker (secs. 7 and 8): real domicile recorded in the national ID and evidenced effective residence, with a minimum of 24 months of continuous residence immediately prior to hiring for the worker from the community of influence and 12 months for the provincial one. A five-tier ORDER OF PREFERENCE, the same for employment and for purchases (secs. 6 and 10): 1) department of direct influence, 2) indirect influence as recognised in the DIA, 3) rest of the province, 4) rest of Argentina, 5) abroad. Penalties (sec. 20): warning, formal notice, a fine of up to 200,000 tax units, suspension of certificate issuance, suspension of the registration from 30 days to 1 year, temporary disqualification and cancellation of the registration; the fine is halved if cured within 10 days. Incentive for the miner (sec. 25): a company that meets both thresholds simultaneously and sustains 80% employment and 60% purchases over an annual period —provided that, within those percentages, at least 30% of workers and 20% of suppliers come from the Community of Influence— obtains a tax credit certificate against provincial taxes, transferable in whole or in part and on a one-off basis to suppliers registered in RE.PRO.MIN. It requires legal and tax domicile in San Juan, or a commitment to relocate it within 12 months, on pain of forfeiture and repayment with interest. verif · Jul 16, 2026 ↗