Mining consolidates its expansion with record investment and exports, driven especially by lithium
The figure represented an increase of nearly 75% compared to the USD 2.712 billion exported during the same period in 2025 and a jump of 156% compared to the USD 1.852 billion recorded in 2024.
The stock of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Argentine mining reached USD 24.849 billion in March 2026, the highest level recorded to date and practically double the USD 12.402 billion counted just two years ago.
The data comes from a report prepared by the Argentine Chamber of Mining Companies (CAEM) and the Rosario Stock Exchange (BCR), based on information from the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic.
The acceleration was particularly marked during the last two years under the liberal administration. In addition to reaching a record in accumulated stock, USD 2.799 billion net of foreign direct investment entered the mining sector during the first quarter of 2026, also the largest quarterly record in the entire series.
This figure represents a 36% improvement over the previous maximum of USD 2.055 billion, reached during the second quarter of 2024. Since then, foreign capital inflows destined for mining have regularly been at high levels, accompanying the development of new projects and productive expansions.
The growth of investments has also begun to strongly reflect in exports. During the first half of 2026, mining external sales reached USD 4.742 billion, a record for the first six months of the year.
One of the main protagonists of this growth was lithium, which established itself as the second most important mineral within Argentine exports, only behind gold. According to data from the Mining Secretariat cited in the report, export quantities of the lithium complex grew more than 68% year-on-year during the first half.
Gold, for its part, continued to lead external sales in the sector, accounting for nearly 61% of the total exported, while silver ranked third.
For CAEM and the Rosario Stock Exchange, the coincidence between the peaks of investment and exports shows two complementary moments of the mining expansion process. While projects developed in recent years begin to translate into greater external sales, the record inflow of new capital anticipates new productive investments, particularly linked to lithium and copper.
In this way, mining continues to gain weight as one of the sectors with the greatest potential to expand Argentine exports and generate new sources of foreign currency in the coming years.
