The Mining Lobby in Argentina Continues To Operate Against Transparency and Sustainability

The mining industry continues to operate against transparency and sustainability, controlled by a few individuals in a system that is becoming increasingly opaque and obsolete

Key points

• Atómico was audited by the CNV and has 280 verified holders under KYC protocol.

• Pablo Rutigliano denounces the loss of $4 billion due to irregularities in the mining sector.

• He accuses political and business actors of sabotaging transparency efforts in the lithium industry.

Amid a new chapter of tensions within the Argentine mining sector, Pablo Rutigliano, leader and founder of the Latin American Chamber and the Argentine Chamber of Lithium, once again denounced maneuvers that, in his words, seek to sabotage progress in transparency, sustainability, and traceability in the lithium ecosystem.

During a broadcast, Rutigliano clarified that Atómico, his platform linked to the Cardano ecosystem, has no relationship with Libra and is exclusively focused on the development and embryonic financing of mining projects through regulated tokenization. As he explained, the project complies with all regulatory requirements, including registration with the National Securities Commission (CNV), and has identified its participants through the KYC (Know Your Customer) protocol.

    “We reported all of this to the CNV: Atómico sent 280 holders who verified the KYC. There is talk of alleged holders who invested, but there is no transparency about who they are or how much they actually contributed. The rest is all lies from these media outlets.”

—Pablo Rutigliano

    “Complaint No. 3309223 was filed, where Argentina lost $4 billion. The data has been audited and is concrete.”

—Pablo Rutigliano

“Atómico seeks to make mining production transparent from the outset, issuing tokens on Cardano to certify and finance real projects, within legal and regulatory parameters,” said Rutigliano.

He also reported that a group of people, whom he described as “criminals,” attempted to misappropriate the name of the Argentine Chamber of Lithium during the pandemic. “They tried to register the trademark before us, but the copyright had already been formally filed in 2020 during lockdown,” he clarified.

He also referred to an attempt at intellectual appropriation by the governor of Catamarca in 2021, regarding a mining tokenization project that he himself had developed. “Governor Jalit tried to take ownership of the idea; there is a video that proves it,” he said.

Regarding recent critical publications by the Chamber of Mining Entrepreneurs and other provincial entities, Rutigliano categorically denied them. He assures that there is no formal complaint or judicial investigation against him or against the Atómico project, and accused those who raise suspicions of spreading false information.

In addition, he pointed directly to two names: Bota and Beserra, who, according to Rutigliano, attempted to join the tokenization ecosystem without meeting the legal requirements to prove ownership of mining rights, since their assets came from a trust, which is expressly prohibited for mining activity by the Mining Code.

Finally, Rutigliano sent a direct message to the media outlet that published the accusations against him:

“True freedom is also listening to others. That is the message for you and for all our brothers who still do not know the truth about what is happening in this industry.”

The Atómico case exposes a deep dispute at the heart of Argentine mining development: the tension between an opaque extractivist model and a new paradigm based on transparency, regulation, and technological innovation. While traditional sectors attempt to discredit these advances, the fight for traceable and sustainable lithium continues to gain ground in the public debate.