Jujuy Province

Jujuy Province occupies Argentina's lithium frontier—the Olaroz and Cauchari salt flats producing record output while indigenous communities challenge extraction in the Supreme Court. The Cauchari-Olaroz operation achieved approximately 25,400 tons of lithium carbonate in 2024, meeting annual targets and consolidating Jujuy's position in the global battery supply chain.

Ownership reveals transnational dependencies: Ganfeng Lithium (China) and Lithium Americas (Canada) control the Exar partnership producing from Olaroz-Cauchari through a $979 million investment. Provincial law entitles the state to 8.5% via JEMSE, the state-owned company—ensuring some local capture from foreign extraction. Rio Tinto's acquisition of Sales de Jujuy adds another multinational to Jujuy's lithium roster.

Employment reached approximately 10,000 direct mining jobs by year-end 2024, with indirect employment still being calculated. This represents significant job creation in a peripheral province, though concentrated in specific extraction zones rather than distributed development.

Indigenous Salinas Grandes communities challenge expansion through 2024 Supreme Court litigation demanding water-sharing governance. Communities report dry springs and producer displacement 90 km from Cauchari drilling. The tension exemplifies lithium's paradox: green energy transition fueled by extraction that depletes water in already-arid highland environments.

Argentina ranks fourth globally in lithium production (behind Australia, Chile, China) but holds reserves suggesting higher future position. Jujuy's salt flats represent core assets in that potential expansion.

By 2026, Jujuy tests whether lithium revenue can drive provincial development while satisfying indigenous water claims, or whether extraction-community conflict limits investment that global EV demand otherwise enables.