Ricardo Martinez
Ricardo was born in San Juan, Argentina. Married, father of 4 children. Graduated from the Universidad de San Juan, as a Geological Sciences Degree in 1985, he holds a postgraduate Master's degree from the University of Akron Ohio, USA in 1987. Geologist for the Government of San Juan in the Dirección de Minería and then the IPEEM until 1991 From 1992 to the present in the private field, he has developed geological and mining explorations throughout Argentina and several countries in America and Asia. He headed the MAGSA field team that discovered the Veladero gold deposit in San Juan (1999), then with Homestake he led the final feasibility study stage of the project. He managed Deprominsa from 2002 to 2007, leading teams of geologists and participating in discoveries of the Josemaria, Vicuña and Los Helados projects, the latter in Chile. In 2003 Argentina Minera S.A. started. mining exploration company with extensive portfolio of projects in San Juan. Since 2018, this company was acquired by Fortescue Metals Group and coordinated the explorations with Argentina Fortescue in the Country until December 2020. He currently works as a consulting geologist and has also undertaken agricultural / industrial / construction activities in San Juan and other provinces of Western Argentina .
Mario Hernández
Graduated in Geological Sciences from the Universidad Nacional de San Juan.
More than 15 years as Professor and Researcher at the Universidad Nacional de San Juan.
Specialized in Environmental Assessment, Business with Social Responsibility, Natural Risks and Environmental Impact. Technical manager in various environmental impact reports.
Former General Manager and Country Manager Viceroy Exploration, former Vice President of Minas Argentinas S.A. in charge of the exploration, construction and production of the Gualcamayo Mine in San Juan from 1995 to December 2018.
Director of Community and Institutional Relations of Yamana Argentina since 2006 for the Suyai, Agua Rica and Mina Cerro Moro projects.
Current President of the Grupo de Empresas Mineras Exploradoras de la República Argentina.
Current President of the Cámara Minera de San Juan.
Professional Registration J-103 Professional Council of Geological Sciences of San Juan.
The social and economic impact of the 4 most advanced copper porphyries in the province of San Juan, made up of the Josemaría, Pachón, Los Azules and Altar projects is analyzed in detail. It is a preliminary analysis of what they mean in terms of job creation, taxation and the analysis is extended to the Agua Rica Projects in Catamarca and Taca Taca in Salta to understand at the national level the impact of the production and export of copper and gold mainly. With the presentation of the Environmental Impact Report of the Josemaría Project, the Mesa del Cobre considers that it was the beginning of the “Copper Era” for San Juan.