In a significant victory for Argentine President Javier Milei, the Senate approved on Thursday a controversial bill that relaxes restrictions on mining activities in areas adjacent to glaciers. The project garnered 40 votes in favor, with 31 against and 1 abstention. Following the approval of the bill as a whole, the senators continued to vote on it article by article, indicating the contentious nature of this legislative change that faces opposition regarding environmental concerns.

The proposed reforms aim to amend the existing 2010 law, which offers stringent protection to glaciers as sweet water reserves. Under the current law, areas deemed periglacial, which encompass mountainous regions with frozen soils regulating water, are shielded from activities such as mining and fossil fuel exploitation. However, under Milei's administration, the new bill seeks to define these protected zones more narrowly, allowing for mineral exploitation in previously restricted locations, a move that has sparked debates on the environmental implications of such mining activities.

The bill has not yet passed through the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, but is expected to be debated there as early as the next week. If successful, this legislative change could significantly alter the landscape of mining in Argentina, allowing mining companies access to valuable resources at the potential cost of environmental degradation near crucial freshwater reserves.