Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Mining · Argentina · 2015–2026

Entre Ríos, which bans fracking, mines silica sand for Vaca Muerta wells

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 2 not measured · 2 unclear See the gaps

Argentina's Entre Ríos province, which bans fracking on its own territory, supplied about 5 million tonnes of silica sand for Vaca Muerta, Canal26 reported in September 2026. Quarries draw about 2 million litres of groundwater per hour, and the Paraná delta wetlands are at stake.

What?
Silica sand from Entre Ríos, a province that bans fracking, is supplied to Vaca Muerta, Canal26 reported. Canal26
Where?
Entre Ríos province, Argentina, supplying the Vaca Muerta basin in Neuquén Canal26
When?
Reported September 2026; the court halt dates from 2022 LM Neuquén
Who?
Gained
  • Fracking companies and YPF — Silica sand from Entre Ríos for Vaca Muerta Canal26
Lost
  • Ibicuy, Diamante and Paraná delta wetlands — Groundwater drawn by quarries, per Canal26 Canal26
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Demand for frac sand for hydraulic fracturing in Vaca Muerta, which Canal26 reported rose from 0.6 million tonnes in 2015 to more than 6 million in 2025. Canal26
How?
Quarries in Entre Ríos mine silica sand for Vaca Muerta wells, and the quarries draw groundwater. Canal26
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Canal26 reported on 4 September 2026 that Vaca Muerta's frac sand need rose from 0.6 million tonnes in 2015 to more than 6 million tonnes in 2025.

Canal26 reported that Entre Ríos supplied about 5 million tonnes, that the province bans fracking on its own territory, and that quarries pump 2 million litres of groundwater per hour.

LM Neuquén reported that a judge halted new silica sand quarries in 2022 pending a cumulative impact assessment, and that the Supreme Court upheld the halt in August 2022.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Unclear Whether the 2022 halt on new quarries is still in force is not stated in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record The quarries' permits, royalties and the revenue reaching the provincial treasury are not stated in the sources reviewed.
    • Not measured The effect of quarrying on the Paraná delta wetlands is not measured in the sources reviewed.
    • Unclear Whether the province's fracking ban applies to sand exports is not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Science and environment

    Groundwater
    Water held underground in soil and rock, drawn through wells.
    Wetland
    Land that is saturated or covered with water for long periods, such as marshes, swamps and peat bogs.

    Bonds and banking

    Liquidation, insolvency, bankruptcy
    Legal processes that apply when a company cannot pay its debts; its assets are sold and claims against it may go unpaid.
    Similar cases
    Mining · Water use · Chile · 2019–2026
    Salar de Atacama lithium extraction
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Colombia · 2019
    Cerrejón coal mine ruling (Colombia)
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Fishing ban · Peru · 1840–2025
    Peruvian guano trade and the Gibbs family
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Panama · 2023
    SGS audit gives Cobre Panamá mine 88% compliance; environmental groups object
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · El Salvador · 2017–2024
    El Salvador lifts its 2017 ban on metal mining
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Colombia · 2010–2018
    Colombian regulator fines Prodeco for breaches at Calenturitas coal mine
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured