Argentina’s Congress approved legislation April 9 to encourage investment in mining by narrowing the country’s broad protections on glaciers as part of President Javier Milei’s plan to unlock more mineral resources to transform the economy.
The newly reformed version of the Large Investment Incentive Regime, or RIGI, could attract over $30 billion in investment over the next decade—about 70 percent of which are slated for copper, gold, and silver projects, according to Milei, who is expected to sign the legislation in the next few days.
“By eliminating the ideological distortions and artificial impediments that hindered progress, this bill reaffirms that genuine environmental stewardship and economic growth are not adversaries, but rather complementary engines driving a free and prosperous nation,” Milei said in a statement on X.
The “historic reform” maintains protection for the watershed’s glaciers and landforms, but it allows mineral extraction on lands that had been erroneously classified as glaciers, the president said.
“The original wording was ambiguous and gave rise to absurd interpretations that effectively prohibited mining activities in general—even in areas where there was nothing to protect,” Milei said.
Environmentalists have already promised to challenge the law in court after protests failed to stop the measure’s passage.
The Environment and Natural Resources Foundation, an Argentina-based nonprofit, and Greenpeace are organizing a public class-action lawsuit claiming the legislative process was flawed and dismissed public concerns over protecting water.
“If they refuse to listen in Congress, they will be forced to listen in the courts,” the organizations said in a statement.
Argentina passed a law in 2010 banning all mining activity on glaciers and within periglacial zones or areas of frozen ground that act as water regulators. Milei’s reforms have narrowed these protections, shielding only glaciers and landforms with specific hydrological functions and giving provinces the responsibility for determining what those are.
Argentina’s Mining Secretary Luis Lucero told a reporter with Radio Mitre the new law could be a game changer.
“In the government, we firmly believe that mining can transform into another ‘Vaca Muerta,’” Lucero said, referring to Argentina’s Neuquén basin—one of the world’s largest shale oil and gas reserves holding an estimated 16 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil.
In 2024, Milei turned Vaca Muerta into a cornerstone of the country’s economic strategy with reforms under RIGI to attract $50 billion in investments in the basin.
The new law was welcomed by the mining industry and a majority of Argentines, according to Miguel Braun, an economist in Latin America.
“It is excellent news that the majority of Argentines support the rational development of our natural resources. Chile exports 10 times more minerals than we do, despite sharing the same mountain range. If we continue doing things right, Argentina will be prosperous,” Braun posted on X.
Argentina is rich in resources, especially lithium, copper, gold, and uranium, but suffered from currency controls, import bottlenecks, and uncertainty over getting capital in and out of the country, according to The Oregon Group, a research firm.
“Gold remains the country’s most important mining export, with capital returning to flagship mines and provinces with long mining histories getting reappraised,” the group stated in a March report. “Just as copper and lithium pull in infrastructure and political attention, gold may end up as one of the biggest quiet beneficiaries of the entire shift. That is why the Argentina mining opportunity matters now.”
