Publications

Survey of Energy Resources 2007

Country Notes:

The principal coal-mining areas are located in the west of the country along the foothills of the Andes and in the Andes themselves, in the provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan, Mendoza, Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut and Santa Cruz, with smaller coalfields in Córdoba, the centre of Chubut and the Atlantic coast of Santa Cruz.

The biggest coalfield is Río Turbio, located to the west of the city of Río Gallegos in the southern province of Santa Cruz, close to the border with Chile. Río Turbio's coal is a steam coal with low sulphur content (down to 1%), falling into the sub-bituminous rank; it constitutes 99% of the hard coal resources of the country, and supports the only coal extraction activity in the Argentine Republic. The Río Turbio coalfield, including the concession for operating the associated railway and port facilities, was privatised in 1994 but is currently under administration by a Federal auditor.The Argentinian WEC Member Committee has reported proved amounts in place of 697 million tonnes of sub-bituminous coal and 7 350 million tonnes of lignite, together with a minor quantity (4 million tonnes) of bituminous grade. For sub-bituminous, the maximum deposit depth is 800 m, with seams ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 m in minimum thickness. The lignite resources are at a maximum depth of 680 m. The only proved recoverable reserves reported are 424 million tonnes of sub-bituminous.

Coal output from the Río Turbio mine is now very modest, at around 30 thousand tonnes per annum, and is used for electricity generation.