Gold output in the country was 1,7-million ounces in 2009.
“There has been a recovery in the drilling stages after last year's crisis, and there are record levels of prospecting and exploration all over the country,” Mayoral told local journalists in an interview held in his office.
AngloGold Ashanti, Barrick Gold and Xstrata are among the big companies that produce gold in Argentina.
Goldcorp, the second-biggest Canadian gold producer, offered this month to pay C$3,6-million for Andean Resources, an Australian gold producer whose flagship project is in the southern region of Patagonia.
Gold is the metal that has the best growth perspectives in the country in the short term, Mayoral said.
The metal has set successive new records in the last couple of weeks, and touched above $1 300/oz for the first time last Friday.
Investors are moving money into the precious metal as a haven against riskier assets, and amid speculation of further quantitative easing.
Silver output is also expected to increase in Argentina, to 70-million ounces a year by 2017, from the 25-million produced in 2009. The estimate assumes that several projects being studied are moved into production.
Edited by: Liezel Hill
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