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Abstract

This paper calculates and compares the Water Footprint (WF) and Virtual Water (VW) for a basket of agricultural products from the province of San Juan with the Water Footprint of a small-scale mining project located in the same province. The agricultural products for which the WF was calculated include melons, white garlic, grapes for raisins and wine, and grapes for fresh consumption. The mining project for which the Water Footprint was calculated is a gold mine named Casposo, situated in the Department of Calingasta in the province of San Juan. Both mining and agricultural production are intended for the foreign market, but agricultural production is also destined for the domestic market. The methodology used is based on the Water Footprint Assessment Manual (Hoekstra et al., 2011), FAO’s CROPWAT 8.0 model to identify the crops’ water requirements, and the CIMWAT 2.0 climate database. The work involves monitoring eco-sustainability variables of the Casposo project—water, electricity, and diesel—for 5 years.