Argentina to restrict mining activies at glacier regions

Last week, Argentina’s Senate passed a glacier protection bill that was opposed by the mining industry as it imposes stiffer limits to mineral exploration and development in the mountain regions of the country. However, the new measure will only have minor effects to gold mining, since most large mine projects are far from areas subject to the new regulations.

Argentina is currently under a real gold rush. Canada’s Goldcorp recently made a US$ 3.45 billion offer for Andean Resources, while Patagonia Gold is readying its Lomada mine and Yamana Gold develops a feasibility study for the Agua Rica copper-gold-molybdenum deposit, expecting to start building the mine in 2011. The South American country had a new record for mineral exports last year, shipping about US$ 2.85 billion of minerals.

But at least one of the bigger gold miners is about to suffer with the new glacier bill. Barrick Gold may face issues with its massive Pascua Lama gold and silver mine after years of fending off challenges from environmentalists in Chile, securing permitting, and waiting for Chile and Argentina to reach a tax-sharing agreement for the project, which lies in a glacier region.