BUENOS AIRES (miningweekly.com) – Mining companies in Argentina have expressed disappointment after the country's Chamber of Deputies last week voted in favour of a law to protect mountain glaciers and surrounding areas from mining and industrial activity.The Argentine Mining Companies Group (known by the acronym Gemera in Spanish), described the bill as “discriminating” and commented that it seeks to “prohibit mining activity in vast areas of the country”
In a press release signed by the industry body's president, Julio Ríos Gómez, vice-president Mario Hernández and secretary Facundo Huidobro, Gemera argued that law contains confusing points, “where there is not a correct definition of the term glacier and periglacial area”.
The companies also said that the current laws already protect natural resources, especially water, and that the provinces that own these resources are responsible to administer them sustainably.
The necessary controls are already in place to protect the environment, they argued.
For example, environmental impact assessments are already “executed in a detailed and rigorous way for each project”, the group said.
The bill put before the Chamber of Deputies this week was a merged version of two previously competing laws proposed by Deputy Miguel Bonasso and Senator Daniel Filmus.
Although the basic framework of the law was approved, there are still some details that need to be worked out and voted on. That debate will take place in August.
The bill provides a basic outline for the preservation of glacial and periglacial areas, and establishes a system to assess environmental impacts and penalise polluters.
It also extends what is understood to be the periglacial area, and places strict restrictions on industrial, mining and construction activity, as well as the use of toxic substances.
Edited by: Liezel Hill
Source: http://www.miningweekly.com/article/mining-companies-criticise-argentina-glacier-law-2010-07-20
