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Argentina Amends 2010 Glacier Law to Permit Mining in Periglacial Areas After Technical Review

Argentine legislators last month passed changes to the Glacier Law that had banned all mining and exploration in glacier regions since 2010. The country’s 16,000 glaciers, covering 8,484 sq km, were previously defined as public goods. Separately, Alannah Hurley received the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize for North America for her leadership in blocking the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska’s…

2 sources·May 9, 8:50 AM(11 hrs ago)·1m read

Argentina Amends 2010 Glacier Law to Permit Mining in Periglacial Areas After Technical Review

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Argentine legislators amended the 2010 Glacier Law last month to end the previous blanket prohibition on mining and exploration activities in glacier and periglacial zones. The revised law now allows such activities in periglacial areas when they are subject to technical assessments. Argentina has 16,000 glaciers covering an area of 8,484 sq km.

The 2010 Glacier Law had defined the country’s glaciers as public goods due to their importance as freshwater reserves, their role in biodiversity, their scientific value and their appeal as tourist attractions. Andres Folguera, a professor with the department of geological sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, stated that the minerals are not extracted today because they compromise water resources protected by the former law or because they are difficult to access.

The original 2010 law’s strict protections had prevented development even in periglacial zones that are not covered by ice. According to the amendment, future projects in those zones must undergo case-by-case technical review rather than an outright ban.

Key Facts

Argentina amended its 2010 Glacier Law last month

The change ends a ban on mining and exploration in glacier regions and now permits activities in periglacial areas after technical assessments; the law had prot

Alannah Hurley won the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize for

The executive director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay, whose Yup’ik name is Acaq, led Indigenous opposition that resulted in the EPA’s January 2023 veto of

Bristol Bay produces more than $2 billion annually from sock

It hosts the world’s largest sockeye salmon run; the Pebble Mine would have sat at the connected headwaters of the Nushagak and Kvichak rivers and required stor

argentina-mining-law glacier-protection bristol-bay pebble-mine indigenous-environmental-activism goldman-environmental-prize

Story Timeline

7 events

2010
Argentine Glacier Law prohibiting all mining and exploration in glacier regions enacted; Bristol Bay tribes petitioned EPA to prohibit mines like Pebble
2 sourcesunattributed · Alannah Hurley
2001
Northern Dynasty Minerals proposed the Pebble Mine at headwaters of Bristol Bay
1 sourceunattributed
2019
Alannah Hurley’s grandmother Mancuaq passed away
1 sourceAlannah Hurley
January 2023
EPA finalized protections to stop the Pebble Mine project
2 sourcesunattributed · Alannah Hurley
2023
Indigenous communities secured an EPA veto of the proposed Pebble Mine
1 sourceunattributed
April 2026
Argentine National Congress passed amendment to Glacier Law
1 sourceunattributed
2026
Alannah Hurley named winner of Goldman Environmental Prize for North America
1 sourceunattributed

Potential Impact

01
Continued legal defense of EPA protections against Pebble Mine under the current U.S. administration
02
Ongoing legislative efforts in Alaska to address the other 20 active mining claims in the Bristol Bay watershed
03
Potential extraction of gold, copper and molybdenum deposits previously blocked by the 2010 Argentine law near glacier-fed freshwater sources
04
Scientists’ stated concern that mining near ice reserves could threaten food production for 400 million people

Transparency Panel

Sources cross-referenced2

Framing risk28/100 (low)

Confidence score74%

Synthesized bySubstrate AI

Word count164 words

PublishedMay 9, 2026, 8:50 AM

Bias signals removed2 across 2 outlets

Signal Breakdown

Loaded 2

Original Sources

@SCMPNewsGold vs water: Argentina opens glaciers to mining but at what cost to world food supplies?Inside Climate NewsInside the Indigenous Fight to Save Alaska’s Bristol Bay

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