BUENOS AIRES (miningweekly.com) – The eighth International Convention on Exploration, Geology and Mining Business Opportunities: Argentina Mining 2010 got under way in Argentina's San Juan province on Tuesday.

The event will continue until next Thursday.

The opening of the conference was attended by San Juan provincial governor Jose Luis Gioja and national mining secretary Jorge Mayoral, as well as vice governor José Rubén Uñac and provincial mining representative Felipe Saavedra.

More than 400 people, including executives, mining workers, other professionals, students and academics, attended the first session of the event.

In his opening speech, Mayoral expressed support for the Chilean mining workers, who have been trapped trapped inside the San José mine, in the Chilean area of Copiapó, since August 5.

He pointed to the unprecedented growth in Argentina's mining sector, commenting that such a large and well-attended event would have been very difficult to arrange in the past.

“Today, we can see the sector is standing firmly and we are convinced that we will keep on growing, with mining activity as a real growth factor for the country,” Mayoral said.

According to an official press release, he also talked about the importance of reaching out to new markets, and pointed to the national government's strategy to “solidify bonds” with countries like China, Russia and Korea.

These relationships “will give way to new investment opportunities and the development of new projects, creating new jobs and improving the communities in the country”, Mayoral said.

In a speech afterwards, Gioja emphasised that Argentina offers a competitive operating environment for mining companies.

Argentina Mining is an international event held every two years in the country.

More than 2 500 people are expected to attend this year's convention, including companies from Argentina, Chile, China, Canada, Australia, US, Peru, Brazil, England, South Africa and Switzerland.

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