Glacier Law: early July Appeal Ruling Appeal ruling announced in early July...
Argentina's Supreme Court Upholds Glacier Protection Law
Published Date: 11-07-2012 [7th of July]
Source: Statement, Reuters, mining.com, Globe & Mail
Source Date: 05-07-2012 [5th of July]
Article starts off with
"Argentina's Supreme Court rejected a 2010 ruling by a federal judge in San Juan province..."
https://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11791
Extract:
"The earlier verdict granted to Barrick (a similar injunction request was granted to Xstrata Copper) which had effectively suspended the National Glacier Act for companies such as Barrick Gold (Pascua Lama and Veladero) and Xstrata Copper (El Pachón), was a great windfall for several hundred exploratory mining projects in the high Andes mountains not only in San Juan province but also in high altitude provinces such as La Rioja, Catamarca, Jujuy, Salta, and Mendoza, where glaciers and permafrost abound.
The doubt remains hence, what the strict ruling will mean for companies whose concessions are surrounded by, or coincide with glaciers and more generally with frozen grounds (permafrost) which are also protected by the law."
Conclusion:
"The verdict also emphasises the responsibility of mining companies to produce within 180 days of the passage of the National Glacier Act, a detailed glacier impact study to determine if the glacier law applies to the project in question, including projects already under operations, making the National Glacier Act retroactive for project's such as Barrick's Veladero gold mine."
We will soon know where we stand. In essence, even if the Los Azules project in San Juan province has no visible glaciers, a detailed glacier impact study must be conducted within 180 days of the ruling by all affected miners to determine: is their property "surrounded by, or [does it-- ed. note] coincide with glaciers [?;-- ed. note] and, more generally, [does it coincide with-- ed. note] frozen grounds (permafrost) which are also protected by the law."??
In the interim since this ruling Coro Mining put out an altered mine plan in response, and Calypso Uranium put some projects on care and maintenance. Each case is different and it remains to be seen what the outcome will be on Los Azules, especially with the upcoming ownership dispute with TNR Gold set for trial scheduled for early November!