The U.S. Export-Import Bank plans to fund up to $7 billion worth of critical minerals and energy projects in Argentina, a financing push designed to help American companies cash in on the country's lithium, copper and shale oil reserves while cementing ties with President Javier Milei. The money would let companies operating in Argentina take out loans to buy equipment from American manufacturers over roughly the next two years, according to a document detailing the plan.
A Bet on Argentina's Underground Riches
According to Reuters, Argentina holds large deposits of lithium, shale oil and other commodities that the financing is meant to help unlock. The funds would specifically support U.S.-sourced equipment tied to lithium, copper, rare earths and shale oil and gas projects, according to geomechanics.io. The Trump administration confirmed Wednesday that it would set aside the $7 billion for loans supporting energy, mining and infrastructure projects in the country, according to a report carried by the Orlando Sentinel.
Milei, described by Reuters as a close ally of President Donald Trump, has leaned on an incentive program known as RIGI to draw large-scale foreign investment into Argentina's energy, mining and infrastructure sectors. The regime provides tax, customs and foreign-exchange stability for projects with at least $200 million in capital spending, per the same report from geomechanics.io. Argentina's mining minister has said the country could be exporting 580,000 metric tons of lithium and 1,641,000 metric tons of copper annually by 2036, a target echoed in geomechanics.io's own reporting on the RIGI framework.
A $51 Billion LNG Project Waits in the Wings
The scale of investment already flowing through RIGI is notable. Eni and Argentina's state-run YPF submitted a joint application last month under the regime for a $51 billion liquefied natural gas project, Reuters reported. Rio Tinto's Rincón lithium project, meanwhile, carries a disclosed capital expenditure of $2.5 billion, with IDB Invest structuring a financing package that includes up to $100 million in direct lending within a larger $1.175 billion arrangement, according to the geomechanics.io analysis.
Rio Tinto is not alone in Argentina. Major commodity companies already operating there include Rio Tinto, BHP and Chevron, per Reuters, underscoring how the country's mineral wealth has already drawn some of the world's largest resource firms even before the new U.S. loan package takes shape.
An Unfinished Trade Deal Looms Over the Push
Not everything is settled. Argentina's Congress has yet to ratify a separate preferential trade and investment agreement announced earlier this year, Reuters reported, leaving a key piece of the broader U.S.-Argentina economic relationship still pending. A separate trade deal remains unratified as the $7 billion loan plan moves forward.
The financing push, first reported on MINING.com and later covered by the Orlando Sentinel, frames the effort as part of a broader wager by Milei that oil, gas and mineral exports can help transform Argentina's economy and ease its chronic dollar shortages. Whether that bet pays off may hinge on how much of the $7 billion actually reaches individual projects, and how quickly Argentina's Congress moves on the trade agreement still sitting unratified.
