Argentine Supreme Court boosts glacier law

Argentina

Argentina’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to inventory the country’s glaciers to ensure no mining projects or other potentially damaging activities are allowed on or near the ice masses, considered crucial sources of future water supplies. The July 3 ruling, strongly applauded by environmental groups here, requires implementation of a landmark glacier-protection law that has gone unenforced since the Argentine Congress passed it in Oct. 2010. The enforcement roadblock was a federal judge’s decision to grant a request by the Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold to suspend implementation of the glacier law, which orders a nationwide glacier inventory and bans development on and around glaciers. Barrick worries the law might jeopardize its US$4.7-$5.0 billion Pascua Lama project, which calls for development... [Log in to read more]

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