Glacier protection legislation was passed by the Argentine Senate, banning mineral, oil and gas exploration in particular areas, especially glaciers already at low or middle elevations. As a public good, the federal government, not the provinces, has authority concerning the bodies of ice. The bill protects the glaciers, however, it does not include periglacial zones which are areas adjacent to glaciers but not buried by ice. Furthermore, the new law will not stop the 750,000oz/yr Pascua Lama gold project by Barrick Gold as the mine site sits on the boarder of Argentina and Chile in the Andes Mountains. 75% of the 17.5 million ounce resource lies on the Chilean side.
