Argentina’s provinces of Santa Fe and San Juan have signed an agreement aimed at allowing San Juan mining exports to move through Santa Fe’s port system, creating a potential new logistics route for the country’s growing mining industry.
The deal seeks to develop a more competitive domestic logistics chain for Argentine mining production, using the Hidrovía waterway and Santa Fe ports as an alternative export outlet.
The initiative is especially relevant for copper, a sector expected to gain weight in Argentina’s export basket as new mining projects advance. San Juan officials said Santa Fe occupies a strategic place in the country’s logistics network because it offers port infrastructure that could allow copper to be exported through Argentine territory.
Santa Fe’s government said the agreement is part of a broader strategy to expand the province’s productive reach and position its industrial, logistics and services network as a partner for Argentina’s new mining cycle.
“The decision by Governor Maximiliano Pullaro was to seek new markets and expand Santa Fe’s productive borders. We have the industry, logistics and companies needed to support the scale of Argentina’s new mining industry. We are no longer only the engine of agriculture: we are consolidating ourselves as indispensable partners in national mining development,” Santa Fe officials said.
San Juan’s Minister of Production, Labor and Innovation, Gustavo Fernández, said Santa Fe plays a key role in Argentina’s national logistics strategy.
“Santa Fe occupies a key place in the national logistics strategy. It is the only province with ports to ship copper through Argentina,” Fernández said.
The agreement also aims to connect Santa Fe’s industrial base with Argentina’s emerging mining supply chain. The province is home to more than 6,400 companies and has expertise in engineering, energy, oil and gas, according to the Santa Fe government.
For San Juan, the agreement could help diversify export routes for Argentine copper, which currently depends heavily on Chilean ports. For Santa Fe, it offers an opportunity to strengthen its port and logistics complex at a time when Argentina is entering a new cycle of investment in mining, energy and gas.
The move also reinforces the role of the Hidrovía and inland port infrastructure in Argentina’s foreign trade strategy. If implemented at scale, routing San Juan mining exports through Santa Fe ports could generate cargo flows, foreign-exchange revenue, jobs and broader regional development.
For trade and logistics operators, the agreement points to a possible reconfiguration of Argentina’s mining export corridors. As copper and other mineral projects move forward, port access, inland transport, storage capacity and multimodal logistics will become increasingly important to the competitiveness of the sector.
Source: Portal Portuario