Argentine lawmakers yesterday approved a bill promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei that authorizes mining in ecologically sensitive areas of glaciers and permafrost, a step environmentalists and scientists have said would weaken protections and threaten water resources.
The amendment to the so-called Glacier Law, which was already approved by the Argentine Senate in February, would make it easier to mine for metals such as copper, lithium and silver in frozen parts of the Andes mountains.
The Argentine Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress, passed the reform 137-111, with three abstentions after nearly 12 hours of debate. The law takes effect once it is published in the official gazette.
Photo: Reuters
The reform has drawn controversy for allowing provinces to set their own glaciers and periglacial protection standards, a shift that critics said could undermine safeguards for high-altitude ice formations that serve as key freshwater reserves.
Since 2010, legislation has barred mining and industrial activity in the areas and set minimum standards to protect water reserves.
Thousands of people on Wednesday demonstrated outside parliament, where there were isolated skirmishes with police.
Governors of major mining provinces and companies say the reform clarifies rules for investment and could position Argentina as a key copper and lithium supplier for the energy transition.
The University of Buenos Aires raised concern about the reform in February, urging “unified scientific criteria, backed by technical expertise.”
“It’s not a matter of choosing between the environment and development, but of having both,” Argentine Chamber of Mining Companies president Roberto Cacciola said at a congressional hearing.
Environmental activist Flavia Broffoni disagreed.
“The science is clear ... there is absolutely no possibility of creating what they [the government] call a ‘sustainable mine’ in a periglacial environment,” she said after addressing demonstrators outside the parliament.
The 2010 law protects nearly 17,000 ice bodies in the Andes mountains, spanning 8,484km2. The Patagonian border with Chile contains some of the region’s largest ice fields.
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