Santa Cruz exported US$1.895 billion in mining products during the first half and led the national ranking. Cerro Negro, Cerro Vanguardia, Cerro Moro, San José and Don Nicolás form the core of the metal-mining activity behind that result. The figure represents the companies' foreign sales and is not direct revenue of the same amount for the provincial government.
The province participates through a fee, royalties, taxes, and resources linked to Fomicruz, a state-owned company present in some projects. According to cited data, the fee paid this year was 2.460 million pesos as a one-time payment and was calculated based on the value of gold from the previous year. Monthly royalties are around 10.000 million pesos, figures that have different periods and mechanisms.
The comparison with hydrocarbons shows the fiscal gap noted in the debate. Santa Cruz received 108.000 million pesos from oil royalties during the first quarter, about 30.000 million per month. The Government adds corporate social responsibility contributions and suggests that the Nation collects most of it through taxes, especially Ganancias, of which a fraction is then shared with the provinces.
Export growth coexists with wage tensions, demands for health, education, and infrastructure, and municipalities requesting financial assistance. The discussion does not deny the volume produced, but rather its translation into employment, services, and communities. Exports and tax revenues are not equivalent figures, nor do they alone allow measuring the territorial impact of mining.
The Legislature approved raising the royalties applicable to new projects from 3% to 5%, but Governor Claudio Vidal vetoed the law, considering that it could affect competitiveness and investments. The decision left the conflict open between capturing a higher share of the income and preserving conditions to attract capital. The discussed rate corresponded to new projects, not to an already existing increase on all current operations.
The next assessment should compare exports with mining fees, royalties, taxes, local purchases, employment, infrastructure and Fomicruz contributions over compatible periods. Only then can the share of growth retained in Santa Cruz be evaluated. The US$1.895 billion record confirms the province's export weight, but it does not resolve the political and fiscal question of how the benefits are distributed.
