Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On April 23, 2020, Argentina's Ministry of Health received a donation of 214,500 COVID-19 testing kits, valued at ARS 275 million (about USD 4.1 million), from members of the Argentine Chamber of Mining Entrepreneurs (CAEM). Shandong Gold Mining Co. and Barrick Gold – partners in the Veladero Mine joint venture – lead the donation and provided the largest contribution: 157,000 RT-PCR and RNA test kits. The kits were to be distributed by the Ministry of Health throughout the country, with provinces with a large mining presence targeted in particular. In monetary terms, Barrick reported that the Veladero joint venture's contribution was USD 2 million, and Barrick contributed another USD 1 million separately. The kits were purchased from Wuhan BGI Clinical Laboratory Limited, and magnetic separator racks for test specimens were purchased from Shandong Shanzuo Holding Group. The supplies were then transported from China to Ezeiza International Airport on April 22, 2020, via Aerolíneas Argentinas flight 1071, as part of the "Air Bridge" ("Puente Aéreo") initiative. In addition to CAEM, the Municipal Government of San Juan and Argentina's National Ministry of Mining helped facilitate the donation. Other contributors to the CAEM's portion of the donation included Cerro Vanguardia, Yamana Gold, Minera Santa Cruz, Glencore Pachon, SSR Mining Puna Operaciones, Minera Triton, Pan American Silver Argentina, Eramine Sudamerica, Minera Don Nicolás, Argentina Fortescue, San Juan Chamber of Mining, and GEMERA.
Staff comments
1. USD 1 million is coded as the transaction amount insofar as Shandong Gold has a 50% stake in the Veladero mine, and the joint venture is said to have contributed USD 2 million. (USD 2 million) x (0.50) = USD 1 million. 2. The "Air Bridge" ("Puente Aéreo") initiative included 42 flights by Aerolíneas Argentinas in 2020 between the Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires and the cities of Shanghai (35 flights) and Guangzhou (7 flights) to transport COVID-19 supplies from China to Argentina. The materials were supplied by various Chinese companies, the majority of which were purchased by the Government of Argentina. However, some flights contained donations from Argentine, as well as Chinese, organizations. A full list of associated flights can be found here: http://datos.salud.gob.ar/dataset/vuelos-de-aerolineas-argentinas-covid-19. 3. Some sources from the Government of Argentina or CAEM that made the donation list the total number of kits donated as 215,000 or 214,250 respectively. The midpoint number, reported by Barrick, has been reported (215,500). However, this does not have an impact on the transaction amount, which sources agree was about USD 2 million from Veladero.