Overview
- The presidency signaled it will bring proposed changes to the Glacier Law to extraordinary sessions expected in February after talks with governors from mining provinces.
- Officials are weighing either issuing regulations under the current law or advancing a clarifying bill that lets provinces determine what counts as glacier and periglacial terrain.
- San Juan governor Marcelo Orrego lobbied in Buenos Aires with a draft decree, arguing that clearer rules are needed to secure investment in copper projects.
- The prospective focus is a narrower definition of periglacial areas that could open sites to mining, a move backed by business groups and opposed by scientists and environmental organizations over water risks.
- Ianigla says it has received no formal notice of any change, while divergent glacier inventories and stalled projects such as Glencore’s El Pachón highlight the uncertainty and the stakes, including about US$30 billion and 40,000 jobs estimated by San Juan.