To advance its climate neutrality and electromobility goals, the European Union (EU) depends on a reliable supply of lithium. The “lithium triangle”, comprising Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia, contains 53% of the world’s lithium resources and supplies 85% of the EU’s lithium imports. In 2023, the EU and Latin America launched a new cooperation agenda under which the EU signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Chile and Argentina aimed at jointly developing sustainable value chains for critical raw materials. That same year, the EU adopted the European Batteries Regulation (EBR), which mandates due diligence to address social and environmental risks in the mining of battery minerals. The EBR and MoUs form the foundation of the EU’s responsible sourcing strategy for lithium from South America. This study, using the energy justice framework and results from a Delphi survey, investigates whether the EBR and MoUs align with the conditions for a just lithium battery value chain for the lithium triangle. Our findings indicate that the EU-South America agenda reflects cumulative learning by addressing mutual interests, such as local industrialization. However, the current EU responsible sourcing approach overlooks critical local-level justice considerations —distributive, procedural, and recognition justice— that are highly relevant to the lithium triangle. We argue that for the EU to ensure a just lithium supply from South America, additional issues must be prioritized, including the equitable participation of local communities in the economic benefits of lithium mining, institutional strengthening, and the proper implementation of free, prior, and informed consultation with Indigenous peoples.

The energy transition will be mineral-intensive and the global demand for critical and energy transition minerals (ETMs) is expected to substantially rise. That will generate development opportunities and risks of intensified adverse socio-environmental impacts in mineral-rich countries like Argentina. In this article, we provide a review of Argentina's mineral potential for critical and ETMs and explore pathways for the country to strengthen its governance. Our results indicate that copper and lithium are the minerals with the largest potential in the short term. For other ETMs, such as nickel or cobalt, potential exists but it remains underexplored. We argue that although responsible sourcing initiatives and rising environmental, social and governance standards have an important role to play, the great challenge ahead for the country lies in strengthening its public institutions for sustainability as these constitute a cornerstone for responsible mining practices. This includes strengthening of environmental institutions and water governance, new models of public participation and decision-making and policies for the development of local suppliers in key areas such as water governance. Addressing such challenges should be grounded on a vision of mining as a platform for broad-based development under co-operation with other sectors and the domestic science, technology and innovation system.

La pandemia del COV ID-19 ha acelerado las transiciones energéticas y, con ellas, la demanda de minerales (como cobre y litio) y de mayores exigencias socioambientales. A partir de una revisión bibliográfica, este artículo busca brindar un panorama sobre el potencial geológico-minero, y las oportunidades y los desafíos vinculados a encadenamientos productivos y estándares socioambientales para minería metalífera en las regiones argentinas de Cuyo, el Noroeste y la Patagonia. Los resultados indican que los 32 proyectos mineros más avanzados en esas tres regiones podrían en conjunto –en el mejor de los casos– recibir inversiones por USD 28.000 millones y producir exportaciones anuales de commodities mineros por más de USD 18.000 millones. La generación de encadenamientos productivos, especialmente hacia atrás, y la aplicación de iniciativas corporativas voluntarias para minería metalífera representan una alternativa para que las autoridades provinciales desarrollen capacidades, aumenten la transparencia y la trazabilidad, y avancen hacia una producción minera certificada y con verificación externa independiente. Palabras clave: minerales críticos, cadena de valor minera, economías regionales, sostenibilidad