Argentina’s Congress approved a bill promoted by libertarian President Javier Milei that would ease protections for glaciers in order to facilitate mining for metals, with environmental groups signaling immediate legal action to block the changes. The Senate’s Thursday approval followed earlier passage by the chamber in February, and supporters said the measure aims to create a regulatory pathway for investment in mining projects.
In the vote reported by the Associated Press, the bill cleared the Senate with 137 votes in favor, 111 against and three abstentions. Milei is expected to sign the legislation in the coming days, according to the report, setting up the next step for the government to move from congressional approval to implementation.
Milei, who described the bill as a compromise, shared a statement from his party that called the new framework a “significant improvement” and said it would help “strike a balance between environmental protection and economic development.” The statement characterized the prior approach as one that “tended to stifle investment, job creation and growth.”
Environmental advocates said they will press the issue in court, with groups including Greenpeace and the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation organizing a public class-action lawsuit. They argued that the bill’s passage reflected a flawed process and dismissed public concerns over water safety, and they urged citizens to join a lawsuit that they say will contend the reform threatens water access and the ecosystems tied to glaciers.
Opposition lawmakers, according to the AP, labeled the legislation unconstitutional and said it would roll back protections that are designed to safeguard glacier environments. The dispute centers on how narrowly the law would define what qualifies for protection and what kinds of mining activities could proceed under the revised rules.
Mining Secretary Luis Lucero told a local radio station that the earlier regulation relied on “absolute prohibitions” that left no room for exceptions or environmental impact studies. He said the rigid rules and imprecise definitions of “protected areas” discouraged investment in large-scale mining projects that, he said, typically require investments of up to $3 billion.
The legislation would mark a change from Argentina’s 2010 landmark law, which banned all mining activity on glaciers and within periglacial zones—areas of frozen ground that act as water regulators. Under the new framework, only glaciers and land forms with “specific hydrological functions” would be shielded, with the responsibility for determining which areas meet that standard shifting to provinces.
The AP also reported that Argentina has 16,968 glaciers across the Andes and the South Atlantic islands, covering a total surface area of 8,484 square kilometers (3,276 square miles). Glaciology experts have warned that climate change is already driving glaciers to retreat at an accelerated pace, and scientists caution that weakening protections could jeopardize water security in arid regions and reduce reserves that help sustain river flows.
Supporters also point to investment expectations. The AP reported that mining sector estimates put the new regulatory framework’s potential at over $30 billion in investments over the next decade, with about 70% of that total slated for new copper, gold and silver projects.