As the mining expo Latin America Down Under takes place in Perth, Argentina's Deputy Secretary for Sustainable Mining, Juan Biset, is visiting Australia with the idea of strengthening bilateral relationships and attracting new investments for his country's mining sector, as well as for the renewable and nuclear energy sectors.
According to state-owned news agency T?(C)lam, Biset is scheduled to meet with executives from major Australian mining companies and banks, such as Yerra Capital.
The secretary will also hold business sessions with representatives from multinationals such as UBS and Anaccord Genuity, and with officials from the federal and provincial governments. One of his first government-to-government will be with Victoria's Secretary for Economic Development, Employment, Transportation and Resources, Richard Bolt.
Last year, Argentina and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the foundations of a continued collaboration in the areas of education, research and capacity building, with special emphasis in the mining sector.
For decades, Australian gold and copper miners have had an important presence in the South American country. More recently, lithium has become the focus of attention with not only Aussie but also multinational companies such as SQM, Lithium Americas, FMC, Enirgi, Orocobre, Albermarle and Eramet developing important deposits in areas that belong to the so-called "Lithium Triangle."