Argentina Mining Exports Top US$6 Billion in Eight Months as Lithium Jumps 190%
ECONOMY · ARGENTINA
Key Facts
- —The country Argentina is the world’s fourth-largest lithium supplier, Reuters notes, and also exports gold and silver from Andean mines. It has produced no copper since 2018.
- —What happened Mining exports reached US$6.06 billion in January–August 2026, up 65.7% on a year earlier, the Mining Secretariat reported on 30 September. Lithium sales rose 190.5%.
- —The numbers Gold earned US$3.62 billion, lithium US$1.47 billion and silver US$726 million in the eight months. August alone brought US$652 million, up 43.3% year on year.
- —What it means for you More mining dollars support Argentina’s trade balance and supply of hard currency. Gold and silver gains rest mainly on world prices, which can also fall.
- —Still open Whether 2026 reaches the US$10 billion the mining secretary forecast in August. That needs about US$985 million a month to December, against US$652 million in August.
Argentina mining exports reached US$6.06 billion in the first eight months of 2026, a record for the period. Lithium grew fastest, with sales up 190.5 percent to US$1.47 billion.
The figures come from a report by the national Mining Secretariat, reported on Wednesday 30 September by Ámbito and Reuters. The eight-month total is only US$15 million short of the full-year record set in 2025.
Gold Still Pays Most of the Bill
Metal ores brought in US$4.47 billion from January to August, up 47.4 percent year on year. Gold alone contributed US$3.62 billion, about 60 percent of all mining sales.
Silver added US$726 million, a rise of 64.1 percent. Copper, lead and other metals made up a further US$123 million.
The secretariat attributes August’s gold and silver gains mainly to world prices. Gold stood at US$4,411 an ounce in August, 31 percent above a year earlier, and silver US$65.4.
That repeats a pattern seen in the first half, when export value soared faster than output. It was examined in Argentina Mining Exports Jump 75 Percent, but Most of It Is the Gold Price.
Lithium Grew by Volume, Not Only Price
Lithium is the part of the boom resting on new production. Export volumes rose 56.8 percent in the eight months, so higher prices explain only part of the jump.
Lithium now accounts for 24.2 percent of mining exports. In August alone it earned US$157 million, up 134.2 percent and a record for that month.
Prices are the caution. Lithium carbonate stood at US$19,292 a tonne in August, more than double a year earlier but 1.7 percent below July.
The secretariat said high prices earlier in the year had revived operations and added supply. That extra supply is what nudged the price lower in August.
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Who Buys, and Why It Matters
Switzerland, China, the United States and South Korea took 79 percent of mining exports from January to August. That is US$4.8 billion from four buyers.
Mining made up 9.2 percent of all Argentine exports in the eight months, and 8.7 percent in August. For an economy that has long run short of dollars, that share matters.
Fernando Ciacera, the secretariat’s national director of mining promotion and economics, said the result reflected “the dynamism of the activity”. The 2025 total was nearly matched “in barely two thirds of the time”, he said.
The Year-End Target
In August, Mining Secretary Luis Lucero forecast US$10 billion of mining exports for 2026, a third straight record. Bloomberg Línea reported the forecast on 20 August.
Reaching it needs about US$985 million a month from September to December. August delivered US$652 million, so the target depends on prices and new output holding up.
Lucero expects new projects to lift mining exports to almost US$28 billion by 2035. Many rely on RIGI, a 2024 regime of tax and currency guarantees for large investments. He called large-scale battery making in Argentina unviable for now.
Argentina’s resource ambitions reach offshore too. Buenos Aires is contesting British-licensed oil work near the islands it claims, covered in Falklands Oil: Argentina Gives the UK Two Weeks, Then Plans a Law of the Sea Case.
What Is Not Yet Known
The full secretariat report was not on the government portal on 30 September. The figures here come from Ámbito and Reuters, which both cite it.
It is unclear how much of the lithium gain will survive softer prices. Copper, the metal Argentina hopes will lead the next decade, still adds almost nothing. Reuters notes none has been mined since the Alumbrera mine closed in 2018.
Sources: Argentina’s Mining Secretariat export report for January–August 2026, as reported by Ámbito (30 September 2026) and Reuters (30 September 2026); Bloomberg Línea on the US$10 billion forecast (20 August 2026).
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