Argentina Approves Glacier Law Amendment for Mining

Argentina's Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to the country's Glacier Law on Wednesday, allowing mining activities in ecologically sensitive areas near glaciers and permafrost in the Andes mountains. The vote, which followed Senate approval in February, passed 137-111 with three abstentions after nearly 12 hours of debate, handing President Javier Milei a key legislative win amid efforts to deregulate the economy and boost mining investment.

The reform modifies the 2010 law, which had prohibited mining and industrial activities in glacial and periglacial zones to safeguard them as vital water reserves. Under the new provisions, authority shifts from a federal scientific body, the Argentine Institute of Snow, Ice and Environmental Sciences, to provincial governments. Provinces will now assess nearly 17,000 glaciers and rock glaciers, covering about 8,484 square kilometers, to determine which ones function as strategic water sources deserving protection. Areas deemed non-essential could open to extraction of metals like copper, lithium and silver, particularly in northern Andean provinces such as Mendoza, San Juan, Catamarca and Salta, where mining sectors are prominent.