Argentina targets $40 billion uranium export potential as CNEA budget rises sevenfold

Argentina has identified 33,650 tonnes of uranium resources across seven provinces and maintains a complete nuclear fuel cycle that includes enrichment, fabrication and reactor design capabilities through the Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. The country stopped mining uranium in 1997 when Sierra Pintada in Mendoza and Don Otto in Salta closed, forcing Argentina to import all concentrate needed for its three nuclear plants despite possessing domestic reserves and industrial infrastructure unmatched by regional peers. The 2027 budget proposal allocates approximately $66 million to CNEA, with exploration earmarked for Salta, Jujuy, Catamarca, La Rioja and Neuquén. La Rioja alone receives 160 million pesos for resource evaluation as CNEA resumes systematic geological mapping and prospection work in areas including Lucero, Sierra del Espinal and the Pipanaco-Arauco basin.

Sierra Pintada holds an estimated 16,000 tonnes of U₃O₈, representing roughly 30 percent of Argentina’s total identified resources, and the site retains processing infrastructure from its 1979–1997 operating period. CNEA has completed waterproofing of onsite cisterns and is constructing a water treatment plant to satisfy environmental remediation requirements under provincial oversight and auditing by the National University of Cuyo. Remediation is considered the legal prerequisite for relicensing production at the deposit. Additional projects including Laguna Colorada and Don Otto are advancing toward public tender processes.

The reactivation coincides with structural shifts in uranium markets. Spot prices exceeded $100 per pound in early 2024 for the first time in 16 years as the International Atomic Energy Agency projects global nuclear capacity must double by 2050 to meet COP28 climate commitments. Current global uranium demand stands at roughly 65,000 tonnes annually, a volume existing suppliers in Kazakhstan, Canada, Namibia and Uzbekistan are unlikely to cover alone. Argentina’s government presented its Nuclear Policy 2026 framework at the IAEA’s 70th conference in Vienna, signaling openness to foreign investment. Nano Nuclear Energy of the United States has committed over $230 million to develop uranium dioxide and uranium hexafluoride production capacity at a facility in Formosa province, positioning Argentina within the fuel conversion segment rather than concentrate export alone.

The government is evaluating additional proposals from U.S. and Canadian firms and considering a legislative framework termed Super RIGI to incentivize investments exceeding $1 billion in sectors without prior domestic production, specifically targeting the uranium mining and processing chain. The strategy aims to convert catalogued resources into financed projects with construction timelines and long-term offtake agreements, moving beyond the exploration phase that has characterized Argentina’s uranium sector since the late 1990s.