“I want to refer to the sector that I have to represent at this young age. If we are aware and look for policies that support, we can generate good things in the complicated conditions that we have in this country,” said the businessman from San Juan Alberto Gonzalez, within the framework of the recognition he received from NEWS as one of the 10 most outstanding Argentine personalities of 2022.
Faced with so many difficulties involved in managing a company in an economy plagued with uncertainty like Argentina’s, bringing an SME to fruition has greater merit. But pursuing excellence in a field with as many challenges as mining and oil is already a bigger undertaking in itself.
This is the case of “Beto” González, recent winner of the Young Argentine Entrepreneur Award, distinguished by the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME). Owner of the firm GOLAND Mining Servicefrom San Juan, this entrepreneur has an immense opportunity ahead of him.
Argentine mining generated exports last year for US$ 3,300 million, while, on the other side of the mountain range, in Chile it added almost 20 times more to its trade balance. A productive activity that in the country generates employment for 30,000 people directly and 85,000 indirectly, in places where the future is internal emigration or state employment, but which has always been questioned due to its little attachment to ecology.
But it is not the case González’s company, originally from San Juan, which is dedicated to the development of mining projects and exploitation, exploration and movement of soils with a different look that is gaining strength in different areas. “Socially responsible mining with the environment is possible. We are focused on the environmental impact of production processes, carrying out an ecologically sustainable activity”, highlights González.
Its objective is to also focus on the promotion of employment in its province. All this from an activity that is being monitored for its triple impact: financial, social (expanding and training employment) and environmental (promoting the circular economy in its region). A balance as difficult to achieve as it is valuable. A post in the hands of the youngest.
Photos: Ernesto Pages, Pablo Cuarterolo, Sergio Piemonte and Marcelo Silvestro
by RN
