The Mining Directorate of Mendoza has just changed the rules of the game for dozens of industries in the province in an effort to reinforce environmental care.
From now on, cement factories, concrete plants, and brick factories must undergo the same environmental controls as mineral processing plants.
The Resolution No. 450, issued on November 10, 2025, establishes that these industries must submit the corresponding Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to the provincial mining authority.
A change with solid legal foundation to protect mining in Mendoza
The measure is based on a thorough analysis of the national and provincial regulations.
The legal opinion reviewed five legal bodies that justify this decision.
Firstly, the National Mining Code (Article 249) includes processes such as crushing, grinding, and calcination as part of the mining activity.
These same processes are carried out by the now regulated industries.
Meanwhile, the National Law No. 24.585 establishes responsibilities for environmental damage in mineral processing activities.
Its Article 4 specifically mentions processes such as pelletizing, sintering, briquetting, and calcination.
The Mendoza Mining Procedure Code (Law No. 9.529), on the other hand, defines in its Article 171 what a beneficiation or treatment plant is.
This includes establishments that process mining inputs through crushing, grinding, washing, and calcination.
Finally, the Provincial Law No. 5.961 on Environmental Preservation requires the Environmental Impact Declaration for any activity that modifies the provincial environment.
Why are these industries considered treatment plants?
Technical report No. 01/25 from the Geological Area was clear in its definition.
“A treatment plant is defined as any establishment that processes mining inputs to obtain value-added products, maintaining their mineral identity,” states the document.
Therefore, cement factories, concrete plants, and brick factories were included in the regime.
This is because cement factories perform calcination of limestones and clays, while concrete plants mix aggregates, and brick factories process clays through calcination.
All these activities align with the unit operations defined in the mining legislation.
“Although the final product (cement, concrete, brick) is manufactured, the prior technical process involves direct transformation of mining inputs,” the resolution states.
Mining: specific obligations for these industries in Mendoza
Now, the affected industries must comply with specific requirements established in the Provincial Decree No. 820/2006.
This decree differentiates the EIR requirements according to the processing volume.
Firstly, plants that process more than 80,000 tons per year will have stricter requirements.
In contrast, those processing less volume will have proportionally lesser demands.
The Director of Mining, Jerónimo Shantal, instructed the technical and administrative areas to adopt this classification as a mandatory criterion.
The measure aims to “ensure regulatory compliance, transparency in procedures, and environmental protection,” according to Article 3 of the resolution.
Impact on the construction industry
This resolution will have a direct impact on mining in Mendoza and the provincial construction industry.
Now, companies must submit their reports to the Mining Directorate.
Therefore, oversight and control over these operations will intensify.
Additionally, technical areas will evaluate each project according to mining environmental parameters.
The measure was published in the Official Gazette No. 32479 on November 18, 2025. From that moment, companies must comply with the new regulations.
Mining in Mendoza thus incorporates greater control over industries that, although manufacturing in their final product, perform mineral transformation processes in their production stages.
