Argentina MPs Approve Bill Allowing Mining in Glaciers Despite Environmental Concerns

Argentina Approves Bill to Mine in Glaciers, Outraging Environmentalists

Argentinian politicians have approved a bill pushed by the country's right-wing President Javier Milei that authorises mining in ecologically sensitive areas of glaciers and permafrost, sparking outrage among environmentalists.

The Chamber of Deputies, Argentina's lower house of Congress, approved the amendment with 137 votes in favour, 111 against and three abstentions after nearly 12 hours of debate.

The amendment to the so-called Glacier Law would make it easier to mine for metals such as copper, lithium and silver in frozen parts of the Andes mountains, despite environmentalists warning that the reforms will weaken protections for crucial water sources.

Thousands of people took part in a demonstration on Wednesday afternoon outside parliament, with sporadic clashes with police occurring. Environmental activists held banners with slogans such as “Water is more precious than gold!” and “A glacier destroyed cannot be restored!”

Seven Greenpeace activists were arrested earlier in the day after scaling a statue outside parliament and unfurling a banner urging politicians “not to betray the Argentine people”.

The passage of the amendment is another victory for Milei, who pushed through looser labour laws in February despite repeated street protests.

Nicolas Mayoraz, an MP from Milei's ruling La Libertad Avanza party, told lawmakers that combining “environmental protection and sustainable development is possible”.

However, environmental activist Flavia Broffoni rejected the government's position, stating that “the science is clear … there is absolutely no possibility of creating what they [the government] call a ‘sustainable mine’ in a periglacial environment”.

Argentina is home to nearly 17,000 glaciers or rock glaciers – a mix of rock and ice – and glacial reserves have shrunk by 17 percent in the last decade, mainly due to climate change.

Milei, a free-market radical who does not believe in man-made climate change, argues the bill is necessary to attract large-scale mining projects, which could triple Argentina's mining exports by 2030.