As I understand it there are expected legislative changes pending in the Province of Chubut. Said changes have been commented on multiple times in the public arena by the Governor (Mario das Neves), yet still remain outstanding and I am wondering if there is anyone on the boards with specific expertise or knowledge as it relates to the current state of things.
There are multiple companies with mining exploration projects in the province and it appears that all, to varying degrees, are making substantial reductions in the expenditures they have planned for the projects; I have also heard that doing a financing to fund ongoing operation of a project based here is very difficult at the moment as a result of the long delays in the implementation of the changes. Again any commentary from the perspective of a company, institutional investor, or larger company looking to JV would be of interest.
From what I gather the changes that are expected are intended to define areas where open-pit mining is not believed to be problematic (potentially the central plateau), as well as possible the lifting of a wholesale ban on the use of cyanide, as well as a much better, more clearly defined set of criteria for acquiring a mining permit.
The most significant player potentially affected by all of this is Pan American Silver, but they are not the only ones claiming an impact as a result of the amendments remaining in a "pending" state. Until recently they had been indicating (in public) an expectation that the implementation of the amendments would still occur this year; however, that expectation has now been modified to April+ providing an allowance that nothing may happen in advance of the elections in March.
Any commentary / discussion on the above overall scenario would be appreciated. I look forward to it.
Thanks,
Leigh